Saeran never left (Y/N)'s side. As she slept, he tended to the machinery, monitoring her vitals and making sure she wasn't in any danger. He didn't allow himself to sleep and didn't allow himself to leave, denying all of Saeyoung's and Vanderwood's offers to watch (Y/N) as she rested.
The last time she trusted him to spend the night with her, he left in the morning. First thing.
Saeran wasn't about to make that mistake again.
"Sae...ran?" He heard a voice call from behind him.
The boy turned around in an instant, immediately smothering (Y/N) with attention and affection.
"You're up? Did you just wake up? How does your heart feel? Are you in any pain?" He asked, firing question after question at the poor girl. Only when he saw her struggling to respond did he slow down.
"Sorry," he said with his usual lazy grin. "Err, how do you feel?"
(Y/N) stared at him for a second, morning drowsiness still slowing her down a bit. "I feel..." She trailed off, before finding the words. "Good. Really good."
Saeran let out a sigh of relief when he saw her smile. He was terrified that the filter Vanderwood had found would be unsuccessful, that (Y/N) would have to live the rest of her life in agony because of that stupid injection.
"Does anything hurt?" Saeran inquired, brushing a stray strand of hair out of (Y/N)'s face. He sat down on the bed and bit his lip.
(Y/N) thought for a moment. "Actually...no. Nothing. For the first time I'm," She grinned at Saeran. "I'm feeling good."
The two of them smiled at each other, both elated at the news. At long last, the two of them were free.
Saeran's pain had stopped when he threw up, his body expelling the liquid without prompt. Now that he knew (Y/N) was no longer in pain...it made him feel like there was finally a chance for things to go back to normal. For them to be happy again.
The boy smiled. "I'll call Saeyoung."
***
The five of them sat across each other in the cabin, comfortably spaced out across two couches and a lounging chair.
(Y/N) and Saeyoung sat on one couch, the white-haired girl leaning her shoulder ever so slightly on Saeyoung, while Saeran and Vanderwood sat a couple of feet away from them. With the dim light streaming in from the evening sun, the image seemed almost cozy: Vanderwood was sipping a cup of coffee quietly, (Y/N) and Saeyoung were smiling at each other in a shy but secretive manner. V, for once, had his sunglasses off, his teal-blue strands of hair scattered messily across his forehead in a lazy fashion. Even Saeran, who would usually be found glaring at someone or scowling in a corner, had a strangely relaxed expression on his face, not quite a smile but still far from a frown.
"We should talk," Vanderwood finally broke the silence after a long moment, "About what we're going to do next."
V sighed. It was clear the man knew this was coming. "You're right," He began. "The Mint Eye is too dangerous to be left alone. From what (Y/N) has told us, it's only growing larger, and bolder as well."
Saeran bit his lip.
He understood the implications behind what V was suggesting.
And it seemed that Saeyoung did too.
"V, no." The redhead said, stiffening.
"We can't...we can't just walk away. Someone has to do something, and as it stands, we're likely the only people who have a chance." V said, taking a breath. "I sent MC back to the city. She'll meet up with Yoosung and Zen...and she'll probably live with Jaehee for the time being. It's too unsafe in Rika's apartment. Jumin will keep the three of them out of trouble, but...we can't just run away. We have to do something about the Mint Eye."
"All of us, is what you're saying?" Vanderwood asked, the question more of a statement than anything else.
Saeran clenched his fist. He watched as his brother placed a comforting hand over the (Y/N)'s trembling palm. He was surprised. Were they...involved? The notion didn't bother him much, comforting him as he realized that two people he cared most about would be protecting each other.
The pale boy pulled his gaze upward and looked at (Y/N). The Elixir had been removed from her system this morning, the machine taken out of her arm just hours ago. But her hair was still white, and the color was still sapped from her skin after so much forced consumption of the blue fluid. She already would never be able to forget her time in the Mint Eye—with the tattoo on her back and her eyes forever mint green.
The boy frowned, remembering how he had inflicted all that pain on her.
A familiar sensation of guilt bubbled in Saeran's stomach as he recalled the details of (Y/N)'s secondary commitment, and how cruel he had been to her afterward. He couldn't help but wonder: Is this...my chance to atone for everything I've done?
"We can't all go," Saeran blurted. "I've been thinking a lot about how to infiltrate the Mint Eye and take it down from the inside...but it's a plan that will require a lot of time. And only a few people. Five is too many for a delicate task like this."
"You sure you want to do this?" Vanderwood chuckled darkly, catching on to what Saeran was suggesting. The elder man acted nonchalant as he asked the question, but Saeran saw the slightly pained look in his eyes.
Despite never truly having talked before, Saeran realized that Vanderwood was more like him than he'd realized. He's probably done something like this before, too. Saeran looked at the brunette male and studied the expression the man was wearing. Does he regret it?
All signs pointed to yes: That Saeran's idea was a bad one, that he'd live his life regretting ever saying the following words.
But if Saeran could protect (Y/N) and his brother, nothing would stop him.
Even if it ruined him in the process.
Saeran took a breath in, his decision made. "We have to split up. Three of us infiltrate the Mint Eye. Two of us stay back. I already have a plan." He said, before adding, "And I already know which of us should go ahead."
"Saeran..." His brother whispered, catching on. But Saeran paid him no heed.
"Vanderwood, V, and me. The three of us will infiltrate and bring the Savior down. You...you two should go." He said. "You'd only be a burden." Saeran added the last part coldly, hoping that if he was rude, then (Y/N) and Saeyoung might be more willing to leave him.
But Saeyoung knew his brother too well to find offense in his words. "Saeran, I'm not leaving you again. We've been apart for half a fucking decade, you can't expect me to abandon you again!"
"Just for a short while, Saeyoung. I'll be back...soon. I need this. For closure. I can't live the rest of my life knowing that the Mint Eye is out there, lurking in the shadows."
"So let us help you!" Saeyoung continued, now standing. "I don't want to lose you again, Saeran, I won't—"
Saeyoung was silenced when Saeran and hugged him.
It was their second hug since reuniting, and perhaps the first hug Saeran had ever initiated with Saeyoung in all of his life. "I don't want to lose you, either," Saeran whispered into his brother's ear. "But that's why I'll come back. You need to stay, though. Not just for me or for you, but...for (Y/N)."
Saeran pulled back, unable to meet his brother's desperate eyes.
He had to do this.
"How long will it be?" Saeyoung murmured. "How long before you come back?"
Saeran looked away, not wanting to confess that the plan forming in his mind was one that would be long-term. "For this to work...for us to take the Mint Eye out forever, and never let it rise back up, we can't just go in and bomb everything. We have to take it out at its root, we have to—"
"How long, Saeran?" Saeyoung repeated, interrupting his brother's tangent.
"I have to regain Rika's trust." Saeran rambled on, unwilling to answer the question. "I need to attain a high role in the Mint Eye once more, and she needs to genuinely believe that I'm on her side, and—"
(Y/N) grabbed Saeran's arm, halting the boy's words with her touch.
"Saeran...how long?" She whispered.
Saeran took a deep breath in. "2 years. At the minimum."
The girl's mouth dropped open, shocked at the duration of this mission. Even Saeyoung looked mortified, never having been on a mission that lasted longer than two months.
Next to them, Vanderwood sighed. "The real missions are the ones that last this long. The Mint Eye has long been on the agency's list of targeted groups...If I eliminate the Mint Eye, it'll be as a job. I'll inform the boss that I've taken this as a mission. For me...it'll just be work. I'm guessing Saeran's already up to the task. But V, are you in or out? 2 years was a generous estimate; expect longer."
V didn't waste a moment in standing up and agreeing to the mission.
The three men glanced at each other and nodded their heads. Without having even discussed a plan, they were all in agreement.
"Saeyoung...I'll tell the agency that you're with me on this mission. I'm lying for you, so you need to be twice as careful. I want you to..." Vanderwood halted his statement and glanced at (Y/N). "I want you to take her and keep her safe. Stay in hiding. Assume everyone is an enemy. We don't know whether Rika will be looking for (Y/N) or not. Listen to me now: As your handler, this is the mission I'm assigning you until I return."
With that, Vanderwood turned and began walking into V's room. He didn't turn his head when Saeyoung protested. V soon followed, bidding (Y/N) and Saeyoung farewell, giving them car keys and a map to bring them back to the city.
Soon, all that was left were Saeran, Saeyoung, and (Y/N).
"I'll be back," Saeran said, confident. He couldn't possibly be sure if those words were the truth or not, but he wouldn't let his brother doubt him.
"You better," The redhead said, acting tough even though tears were forming in his eyes.
(Y/N) took a step forward and hugged Saeran, burying her face in his chest as he looked down at her. Slowly, he returned the embrace, finding comfort in the fact that once this was all over, he would be able to look her in the eye once more and not feel guilty.
"Go," he whispered. "The sun is setting."
They left the house slowly, taking as much time as possible, but Saeran didn't stay to watch. He wouldn't let them see his weakness. And so the two brothers are separated once more, Saeran thought bitterly.
Saeyoung would have to go back to being Luciel for the time being, while Saeran stayed with Vanderwood and V to take down the Mint Eye. Luciel...of all the names he could have picked, Saeran mused, chuckling at the thought as he approached the door Vanderwood and V were behind.
The moment he had heard the name, Saeran had searched for the definition. Both he and his brother were methodical, neither one of them doing anything at random. There was a reason behind the name 'Luciel', Saeran knew, and he grew obsessed with finding it.
When he learned that it meant the Light of God, the boy was unsurprised. Though he himself had stopped believing in the idea of there being a higher power, his brother clung to those values, his belief never faltering.
How fitting, Saeran thought with a soft smile, That Luciel, the light of God, has found an angel to love him.
Because that's what (Y/N) was.
An angel.
He smiled when he thought about the prospect of (Y/N) and Saeyoung being together.
Saeran had never found himself to be capable of love. After Saeyoung first abandoned him (though he now knew it was more complicated than just that), Saeran had so much hate in his heart that he resigned himself to never open it to love again.
(Y/N) changed that a little bit, but no matter how Saeran loved her, it would never be the passionate, romantic love that she deserved.
Saeyoung can give that to her, he realized, smiling. Everything she deserves, and more.
He opened the door, turning to V and Vanderwood. He would never forget the final thought that ran through his mind:
Even if I never return.
Word count: 2.1k
Notes: wHy dO sCHoOls MaKE iT iMpoSsiBLe tO gET sLEeP i jUsT wANt tO gET eiGHt cOnSeCUtiVE hOUrS iS tHaT so MuCH tO aSk fOR
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Next Update: 03/16/20
I do not own the rights to Mystic Messenger or any of the characters within it.