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ddoxhan · 25 days

Text

all I wanna do

like a rain shower in midsummer, I need you cuz all I wanna do is be with you

word count : 5.3k words

genre : fluff revolving around two goofballs; scriptwriter! ningning x office worker! reader; experiencing a disastrous date won't stop you from planning the best date for the love of your life

t/w : none :)

a/n : a light-hearted, playful date with ms ning yizhuo! imagine her laughters throughout the entire thing and just seeing how happy she is being with you 🤍 I love this baby so much :') anyways enjoy !!

outfit? check. water bottles? check. portable fan? check. power bank? check. umbrella? check. snacks for your pretty girlfriend? check. after that disastrous date with yizhuo last time, you were traumatized hence the over-the-board preparation for today's date with her. you had planned a lot of events for the day, hoping that she would be surprised with how you made sure things were to go according to plan. her reactions are just the cutest and no one can tell you otherwise.

regardless of whether it was going to rain, or if you lose her in a crowd as her phone dies, or if she gets incredibly hungry that she's in the mood to murder you. yes, that was how the entire date went the last time when you two headed for a mini concert in the outskirts. just thinking about it again sent chills down your spine. never again, you thought.

as you take a step out of your apartment, that annoying ringtone informed you of who the caller was.

"yeah, babe?"

'on the way? or you just woke up and getting ready to throw on just anything?'

"missy, I'm slaying my fit of the year. and yes, I'm on my way. maybe in another thirty minutes?"

'okay, missy. sounds good to me, see you then babe!'

"love you."

'love you too!'

her voice got softer, as usual walking away from her phone to do her own things. she usually lets you end the call, either you'd end it while chuckling at her antics or listening a little longer to hear her humming a song that's on her 36th spotify playlist.

the sun was shining, the clouds were fluffy, and the bus just passed by the stop before heading for yours. was it more than enough time for you to make it? sure, but, that was if you ran for it. you were definitely not waiting for the next one that was going to be in the next 15 minutes.

the run wasn't too bad, giving you a chance to try out your new pair of sneakers. definitely not made for running, but they were sure looking amazing with your outfit. yizhuo had gotten them for you when you had finished that torturing physics paper one semester ago but you couldn't get yourself to wear them. she insisted that you wore it after she saw them in a new display box you got for it when she slept over after spending hours playing animal crossing with you.

'jagi, didn't I get those for you?'

'yep.'

'wear them when we go on a date next week.'

'but-'

'no buts.'

so that was how you were striding in these slides. they made you a little taller, which was the perfect height to pull yizhuo into a hug and rub your head on her hair. she hated those the most, but you love the scent of her vanilla shampoo, calming and soothing. as you stared out the bus window from your seat, your lips naturally curled into a smile as you reminisced those times when you and her took the bus home during your uni days.

when you had shared social law with her, you always took the bus with her after classes at the end of the day. you had known that she lived a little further from campus instead of the dorms and you happened to also take the same bus line as she did. acquaintances bloomed into friends, and you took your friendship with her to the next stage when you confessed that you saw her as more than a friend. you were the happiest girl alive when she said that she felt the same too.

when you had graduated with your psychology degree and her with her communication degree, that was when you found out that yizhuo had not lived three bus stops away from yours. and that was also when she had found out that you lived two bus stops before where she supposedly lived. in summary, you were two idiots thinking that you guys were so smart for trying to fool each other.

she did indeed live in the campus dorm, but just got down the stop where her friend lived at, in a way using her as an excuse to spend more time with you. you on the other hand, did similarly to spend more time with her by pretending that you got off at the next stop after hers. for four months straight, you had took a whole trip around the neighbourhood each time you had social law.

till this day, this was still something that you and her would bring up and laugh about at how stupid you two were. but you didn't complain, you were stupid in love with her.

a ring on yizhuo's doorbell was enough to make her frown from finishing her favourite shampoo to smiling as it indicated that her huggable human was by the door. when she swung the door open, she was surprised to find you with a bouquet of crocheted pink tulips and a puffy tote bag. first, you hated tote bags because you were afraid of forgetting them on your seat. second, what occasion was it for the flowers?

"hello, girlfriend."

"hello to you too. what's with the flowers?"

a toothy grin was all it took to convince that it wasn't a special occasion that she knew, but rather one that you wanted to celebrate because, you just wanted to.

"it's 520 days since we've started dating. so yeah, happy 520!"

"and here I thought that I had forgotten our anniversary or something."

"well, it's still something to celebrate about."

if yizhuo had her clumsy and quirky antics, you had your puppy-like and unpredictable antics. it wasn't once or twice that you had showed up to her front door with tulips or roses, be it real or fake, or crocheted. or that one time you had a spur in the moment and made her beef wellington for lunch. you didn't even like cooking that much.

'I saw this recipe and I thought you would like it a lot!' as she quotes from you.

but none of that can stop her from loving you more as each day went by. the good morning and good night texts were a must and meeting up at least once every day was the base, whether it be face-to-face or through facetime. as much as she could feel her fatigue from her day fade away when she saw that smile of yours, so did you when you heard that laughter of hers when you crack a joke.

"thank you, babe. I like it a lot."

she tiptoed to press a little peck on your cheek, which led to that big ass grin on your face and your tail would have wagged hard like a helicopter, if you had one. seeing your usual reaction, yizhuo went back to her room to proceed getting ready for the day. oh, did you mention that she looks amazing even when she had her hair up in a messy bun, and the most worn out, comfortable home clothes? yeah, now you know.

as you took your spot on the couch, it didn't take her longer than 20 minutes to be in the cutest outfit for your anticipated outing. the opening of her bedroom door prompted you to stand by the shoe rack and put your shoes on.

"ready?"

"mhm."

after you leaving her place, she naturally headed over to the bus stop while you stepped further from it, making her confused at the way you had a mischievous smile on your face. you walked over to her and dragged her along to the nearest car rental shop, rendering her further confusion.

leaving her at the entrance for a bit, you returned while twirling a shiny key with a far too recognizable logo printed on it,

"I knew we were going to the aquarium, but you didn't mention anything about driving there. when did you even have a driver's license?"

"well, surprise."

driving wasn't a practical option since you lived four bus stops away from your now alma mater. public transportation was a pain in the ass during before and after work peak hours but that was more worth than paying for the parking fee. that included having not told yizhuo about your driving capabilities.

your campus was practically in the middle of the city where most necessities were within public transportation reach. it didn't really matter if you had a car or not cause that was how convenient travelling for stuff was. if there was a need for a car, you would just ask minjeong for hers since she drives. even now, you could get to your job without a car, and you only head to office 3 days a week.

"and you rented a BMW?"

"yes?"

the look on her face darkened further as she couldn't comprehend your spending tendencies. you weren't a thrifty douchebag, so this was really a firsthand experience of you being willing to spend so much when there were cheaper options.

"please tell me you're joking. this could easily cost you half of your monthly salary for a day."

"okay okay, yes, I'm joking."

"thank god."

" but I did buy a kawasaki though."

yizhuo's jaw could not drop further as you said those seven words. she couldn't even form words, let alone sentences.

"wha- huh- you- eh?"

"come on, I got a second hand one so it's a lot cheaper. and it was a snatch with its low mileage."

the whole ride to the aquarium was just her bombarding you with questions on why you decided to get a motorcycle, when did you get your driver's license and a whole lot more. the entire ride there. though you weren't annoyed, you found it adorable that she wanted to know more. you being down bad was an understatement, you were just so in love with her that you don't see any chance of you getting back from being down bad.

you sure didn't need a second hand kawasaki to get to work considering the many reasons that would have stopped you from getting it. but there was one extremely big reason to get it that surpass every other. it was yizhuo. at the end of every day where you would drop by her place to spend time together, she would tell you about the things she encountered on the way home on the train, be it good or bad.

you were content with listening to how she would coo at the children and babies she saw, but grimaced at some things she would witness that you don't even want to reiterate. just then you thought, maybe you should get a vehicle to fetch yizhuo after work. as a scriptwriter, the expectation to get things done by her deadlines were brutal, from your nine-to-five job perspective. at times, she would finish past dinner hours and leave the broadcasting station with slumping shoulders while you waited for her at a nearby cafe to have dinner together after she clocks out. it always made a part of your heart ache a little when she drapes her body over you, with her basking in your scent.

she had always reassured you that she would feel her energy pick up when she spots you at your usual spot waiting. and even more so when she hugs you, as if you were her human energizer. but to imagine the days that you wouldn't be there, it was the right decision to get a vehicle for her to relax in after work on the way home. regardless of whether it was this nice BMW or the kawasaki you got, you get to accompany her back home while she talks about her day at the broadcasting station.

to head home together after a long day and lay in her arms on the couch while watching a movie was always your dream. usually her housemates would be around and it wasn't that comfortable to have the whole living room to yourselves. you would either leave after dropping her off or you would spend some time in her room for a while since she would reason that you have work the next day. one day, you would get a house together with her and make that dream a reality. one day.

"for me? this nice ass bike because you wanted me to get home safe?"

"yep."

she looked at you in disbelief, worried that the cost of this damn bike would put a hole in your wallet while you had a sheepish smile knowing exactly what she had in mind.

"I know it sounds crazy but trust me, I've planned this for a long time."

"how long?"

"roughly 5 years."

as yizhuo mentally counted, she figured that that was when you were still freshmen back in university. although she was flattered by the fact that you fell for her since then, she couldn't help but feel bad. and you knew she would from the way her smile fell a little, just enough for you to be able to tell.

"don't feel bad babe. I did say it's for you, but it's also for me, for us. it's a lot better than having to squeeze into the train and having body odour rubbed all over my face."

the joke managed to lift her mood as she giggles at the way she could relate too. well, you could say that this kawasaki was a dream motorcycle that you've had your eye on for some time now too. her hand reached over to yours on the gear stick, her eyes looking into yours, feeling that she was the luckiest girlfriend on earth.

"you're welcome, and let's go see those penguins, shall we?"

"welcome to underwater haven, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! I will be your guide today, so make sure to remember how I look like. you wouldn't wanna get lost and bump into the polar bear."

the crowd laughed at the humor of the male guide, before following to enter into the aquarium for the day.

in one hand, was your professional camera to capture the beauty of the animals (as well as your girlfriend), and yizhuo's hand intertwined with yours in the other. although she was more fond of furry animals in the petting zoos, she absolutely loved the way your eyes would sparkle when you tell her about your favourite aquatic animals that even she had managed to remember by now. you looked like an excited child jumping around and she just wants to give you all the kisses that you deserved for being so cute.

"oh! that's the angelfish. isn't it such a nice shade of pastel blue? and the way they just look so pretty."

"yes yes, very pretty."

and her gaze was just fixated on your smile that hasn't fell ever since you stepped foot in here. she couldn't give a damn about all these fishes that looked the same to her. all it did was make her crave for some good sushi, but she shall not talk about that while you're here. maybe in the next few days, she should bring it up. for now, she would enjoy this aquarium date.

"did you have fun?"

"mhm. did you? weren't you bored a little halfway?"

"I mean yeah but when I look over to you, wow best day ever."

you shot yizhuo a glare before relaxing when you knew that she had eyes only for you.

"I love you too."

that sheepish smile on her face made you chuckle at the way you found it cute, realization for the nth time that you would never be able to win against her. be it her random rendezvous at odd hours or cheeky remarks like this.

"so where would lunch be, ms. 'I have a BMW now so we can go anywhere we want'?"

she's just not gonna let you breathe huh?

"well, it is a thursday today. so you know what that means."

"the bazaar!"

the first time she found out about the bazaar, she had always gone there either alone since her friend had clashing schedules or would resort to the cafeteria food which she disliked a little. after knowing you through social law, she deciced to persuade you to accompany her there.

'you mean be your chaperone?'

'I wouldn't put it that way, think of it that you're there as my food mate.'

it was a weekly food bazaar that happened at the city square, filled with all kinds of food from all around the world. yizhuo was always down to try anything that was edible, while you were just there to be with her as you didn't fancy trying new things.

'come on! try this, the vendor said it's glutinous rice cooked in a bamboo tube.'

'it looks questionable.'

but to be honest, it did taste good. while she had a habit of ordering a variety to try, she wouldn't hesitate to share it with her friends, encouraging them to head to the bazaar to try out too. when you looked back and thought about it, she was also helping out the local businesses that had a hard time. she tried to deny, giving you the reason that they had better food that whatever the cafeteria served. however, you would notice each time you stood by her while she talked to the vendors. the way her eyes fold into crescents, truly grateful that they were doing great.

as you spent more time with her throughout your days, you harbored feelings for her and they just grew out of control when you would malfunction from being around her. you were there once as an acquaintance, now you were back there again, as her girlfriend. wow, thinking about it made you feel overwhelmed.

"are you sure we're able to finish this?"

"if we can't, we could bring it over for minjeong."

"I'm pretty sure she would be too full from lunch with jimin. you know how those two are."

"well, I guess this is all for us!"

just watching yizhuo enjoy the food in front of her made you feel as if you had ate. if your girlfriend was happily full, then so were you. at some point, the vendors didn't change often, and they soon became permanent at the bazaar, being able to find a crowd of customers for themselves. you didn't remember how it happened, but when yizhuo would always recommend it to the people around her, you knew who it was because of.

"what? is there anything on my face?"

your gentle gaze had her rub the sides of her mouth, then her cheeks. full of food while she mumbles, it was just a sight too adorable. you succeeded at holding back your urge to squeeze her cheeks, or you would end up with a flick on your forehead.

"nothing, you just look really pretty."

"thank you, but I can't tell if you're being sarcastic cause I am stuffing my face full of food right now."

"nothing beats a happy girlfriend who loves her food. and it's cute."

extending a hand over to clear that sauce stain on the corner of her mouth, you looked so lovesick, it almost made the people at the table on the right gag. what did single people do to be punished like this?

you would only cut it out with the lovey dovey eyes when yizhuo made sure that you were eating enough unlike when you were in your final year. that final year research paper had you lose 5kg throughout the journey and you wish to not experience that ever again. sleep was an option and so was food. if it wasn't for her threatening to have your meals properly or she would not see you again, you would have probably fainted at least twice that year.

so now, you have a wonderful girlfriend and a stomach full of good food. the day was going spectacularly smooth without any problems. but you spoke too soon when the sun had set and night had came.

after the bazaar lunch, you were to drive to a restaurant by the beach that yizhuo had really wanted to try but didn't insist on going as it was far. since you had rented a car, it was only right to bring her there. before night would fall, it would have been perfect to enjoy the sunset by the time you would have arrived considering the journey.

that was until the car started to smoke on the front all of a sudden. pulling over to the side of the road, you had to call for help from the nearest car repair shop to send a tow truck. you weren't going to risk driving there despite it being a short distance, not with her in the car.

as the tow truck arrived along with another car, you thanked the foreman for offering to drive you two to your destination when he couldn't get you a spare car. nevertheless, you managed to reach just in time to sit by the beach to admire the sunset with yizhuo. that was before it got windy and droplets of rain turned into a downpour.

"why is it always like this whenever we decide to go out for dates?"

she was feeling a little down from the mishaps from the car to the downpour. to be frank, you were too, since you had hoped that the date ended perfectly since she had looked forward to it a lot. although she didn't verbally express her excitement, you could tell from the way she had already put together an outfit for the day a week before and marked the date on her calendar with a big red circle and hearts around it.

"babe, things happen. plus it was my fault that I didn't check the car properly before today."

"it's not your fault, like you said things happen. just why on our dates..."

you were half soaked from the rain even with an umbrella. as you sought shelter at nearby shop, yizhuo wasn't soaked as much because you had wrapped yourself over her to make sure she didn't. that also made her a little more upset as she was scared you would get sick because of her. on the brighter side, you were at a vintage shop where they had quite a collection of film cameras. you had to take the opportunity to get one from here before you left. but first, back to making your girlfriend feel better.

"hey hey, babe. look at me."

you placed your hands on her cheeks and made her face you, squishing them a little. around her colleagues, she was competent and very professional when dealing with the producers and directors at her workplace. but when she comes home and relaxes around you, she would turn into a small little kitten that needed her favourite human pillow. just like how you had her pouting and leaning into your hands.

"things don't have to always go as planned. it's best if it did, but now that it didn't. we're here at this vintage shop and it looks like there's a lot of stuff to explore around here."

"sure we missed the sunset for a little, but we stumbled upon this place."

and with that, your girlfriend was back to her normal self.

"okay, but promise me you're not going to get too many things. nothing else is going to fit that glass case."

"yes, ma'am."

giving her a tiny salute and a cheeky smile, it was another mission success of making the best out of a (sorta) ruined date.

"I did mention not to get too many things, but you did get something that was very expensive."

"but it does take really good film pictures. plus, a good camera to fit the most beautiful model in the world."

yizhuo scoffed at the compliment but couldn't help but blush a little. thankfully, the downpour had come to a stop, only a small drizzle remained.

as you headed towards the restaurant that you had made reservation for, you couldn't help but feel super lucky at that moment as the sky was still lit and the ambience of the waves hitting the shore, as well as the drizzle adding its touch. along with the beautiful sight of her while her hair is blown by the wind, that gorgeous smile making you fall for her all over again.

arriving there, you were brought to your reserved table before ordering whatever she wanted on the menu. the wait wasn't too long, which was good as it was quite eventful before this meal. as you indulged in the local delicacies, you couldn't help asking yizhuo if she was in for some alcohol. and knowing her, she wouldn't pass on the offer.

you only drank a little as you would still need to drive back, as the foreman had mentioned that it wouldn't take till the next day to fix the car. just as you wrapped up your fulfilling meal, your phone rang, indicating the caller to be the foreman.

"yes, mr. lee. is the car done?"

"I'm very sorry miss, but I've called to inform you that we've come across another problem from the engine as we looked into it earlier. we would need another day for it as we are closing soon."

"ohh... umm... alright then. we'll look around for somewhere to stay for the time being. thank you very much."

hearing how you would need to look for somewhere to stay and seeing that apologetic smile plastered on your lips, yizhuo just knew that the plans for the day had changed for third time.

"we need to look for a motel?"

"hey! you don't need to put it that way."

the ends of your ears started burning a little as you hid your face in your hands, trying to lower the rising temperature of your cheeks. her word choice had caught you very off guard while she remained calm.

"it is what it is. plus, we could get separate rooms so why so shy?"

she was definitely having a great time teasing you.

you managed to find a decent place after asking the locals. but being there on the weekends only meant that there was no such things as vacancy. however, you still decided to shoot your shot, praying for two rooms.

"we've got only one room left, with a single bed."

and you definitely didn't expect that shot to miss entirely. it was better than no rooms at all, and it meant using the same room as yizhuo. you had to repeat that to yourself several times to fully register what you had heard. number 1, you had not slept over at her place before as you didn't want her housemates to feel uncomfortable with your unfamiliar presence. number 2, it would only be you and her in a room. nothing would probably happen, given that you would be sleeping on the couch.

"where are you going?"

"to sleep...?"

drying your hair with the provided towel, you glanced over to your girlfriend who already dried her hair and changed into a set of pajamas that you had got from a nearby shop. you were in a similar one with a different color, reminding you too much of what married couples would usually where in dramas. 'enough!', you thought.

as much as you wanted to wake the next morning in your arms, you held yourself back as it might make her uneasy. what if she's not used to sharing the bed with someone? what if she thinks it would be hot? what if you snore? what if―

before you could complete all the possible scenarios from overthinking, yizhuo stretched out her arms, telling you to hug her. and so you did. as you fell for her temptation, she pulled you in closer to make you fall onto the bed. as she leaned over to place her lips on yours, your brain short-circuited with too many things happening at once. pulling away, all she saw was a shocked puppy speechless and thoughtless.

"you good?"

"huh?"

"were you going to sleep on the couch?"

"yeah..."

it was as if you lost your ability to speak because all you could do was nod or give short answers to her questions. well, you were being considerate for your girlfriend in case she didn't want to share the bed with you and you were more than willing to let her have the bed for herself. after all, the bed wasn't the biggest and it was just fitting for two people, no more, no less. but she didn't mind at all.

"why when we could just sleep together?"

you hit her a few times for her choice of words and she just wondered what she said so wrong. 'sleep together', technically you were going to sleep together but not sleep together. there was a difference, but you were just being overly sensitive from the way that your body was in close proximity with yizhuo.

it wasn't like you didn't cuddle with her before in the living room while watching dramas and movies. it wasn't like you didn't hug her every single time you would leave by the end of the day. it wasn't like she wasn't already clingy and always finding an excuse to stick right next to you, be it be holding hands or just pulling you into a bear hug. but why was this time so different just because it was on a bed?

"you could take this as practice before we get married in the future."

right, that was why it made you so fidgety and anxious like a teenage girl who was in love with her first love. true enough, she was your first love, if you were to minus out the short fling back in high school that wasn't even a relationship nor situationship.

your relationship had not even turned 2 years old and yizhuo already had confidence in that you would marry her when the time comes. and she was darn right that you would. that day just sealed the deal where you definitely couldn't see yourself spending the rest of your life with someone else other than her.

the way she would enjoy your rants about sea animals that she couldn't care less, the way she reminds you about spending too much, the way she held your hand throughout the whole date.

although she wasn't interested in the many species of fishes that you knew, she didn't complain about it and just enjoyed how you were ecstatic about them. she would nag you a little about getting too many vintage cameras when you wouldn't even use some of them, but she knew that every single one you've bought had at least taken one picture of her. she knew that physical affection wasn't your way of expression where gift giving and words of affirmation was, she made sure that you felt hers.

just like this very moment, you could feel it through the way her gaze bores into your eyes, letting you know that she loved you as much as you did for her, if not more.

"okay, if you say so, wifey."

"oh? already agreeing to the proposal?"

"no way, I will be the one proposing to you in the best way possible when that day comes."

"but does that mean you want to marry me?"

yizhuo was glad to see how you snapped out of your trance with the playful banter between you and her. not only that, your string of thoughts had brought you to a conclusion that sounded like the best one to your life story.

"yes, ms. ning yizhuo. I would love to marry you."

"cause all I wanna do is be with you."

#ningning #ning yizhuo #aespa #aespa fluff #aespa imagines #aespa scenarios #aespa x reader #ningning x reader #Spotify

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yessa-vie · 3 months

Text

01 || HEART STRING OF GOLD || OT8! ATEEZ.

ANGEL || HEART STRING OF GOLD || OT8! ATEEZ.

→ PARING. OT8 (yeosang focus) x fem!reader.

→ GENDER. angst. tiny bit of fluff. suggesttive. ateez lore au. soulmate au.

→ WC. 28,906 (i'm sorry, i'll try to make the others smaller).

→ RATING. R (mdni!).

→ WARNINGS. mention of assault. refugee situation (not too deep into it). slight yandere behaviour. hongjoong is a little shit (but i love him). sort of a flashback, but not really. mentions of heavy torture. blood. reader's duality is explored. a little of the backstory of reader with halateez. forced kiss. suggestive (talk and acts, incluiding imply the possibility of sexual assault). yeosang is a savage. cussing, like, a fucking lot. mention of violence. sexual tension at it's peak (but no actual pinning yet). so much angst, i'm sorry. talk about character's death. i guess that's all, let me know if i forgot something (let me know if there are any horrible typos, please!).

⇦ || hsog || masterlist || ⇨

It had been four months since the leaders of the Black Pirates had contacted you. Whether they did it again or not was still a mystery to you, especially when Eden had come to you asking to go undercover in the refugee areas on the edge of Strickland. A unit was quickly created with Eden as leader, everyone knew that you were his favorite, always being included in any type of mission led by him, but thanks to the rumors that increased regarding the Black Pirates, subunits were created with the main superiors and the main names in each area.

This was something you liked and had adopted thanks to being with Eden, it didn't matter who you were, what mattered was your skill, your ability to exercise that skill. The rest didn't matter, just how good the person was. Fortunately, your unity was considerably good and sociable between each other. Two exactly like you and Jeongin, children of important people in the government, which ended up making it easier for you not to get completely lost, in addition to the occasional conversations with your team, more specifically: Minho, Chan and Jeongin.

Fortunately, the mission seemed to be at an end, considering you didn't get any information about the presence or mere mention about the Black Pirates, which indicated that they were probably in another refugee camp, but that didn't stop Eden from sending you and Moonbin out for more information. Despite everything, at no point did you think about complaining, considering all your history with Moonbin, he was one of the few people who knew how close you and your brother were and how much you suffered with everything that happened.

Like all the work that was done with Eden, you and Moonbin were a closed unit, with occasional presences from Soyeon when you weren't intending to be infiltrated, despite always feeling the girl's sharp eyes on your back regardless. Soyeon was your shadow on that team, you knew you could trust her with your life, especially given the fact that she had the blocker behind her ear.

Her eyes roamed the open space where some of the refugees were selling what they could in exchange for something, usually food or food stamps and clothing. Since both you and Moonbin were two of the three who didn't have the blocker – not including Eden – you were the best options for such a task. There were rumors about who had or didn't have the blocker, rumors about who had removed the blockers, but nothing had ever been confirmed and Eden made a point of saying that whoever said that would be removed from the team.

Talking about the blockers, whether they were removed or not present was akin to blasphemy within Strickland's borders, even though the only people who knew that the blocker could only be removed or turned off were people within the government – usually high-ranking people, which was one of the reasons you never got one. Your parents had trained you enough to be able to mask feelings, your brother more than your parents, however, since everything happened, your parents turned to using the blocker, making it even more difficult to process everything that had happened.

“(y/n), Moonbin, Eden needs to see you, but he's still in a meeting with the leaders,” Soobin's voice came from your ear spot and your eyes quickly met Moonbin's who was quickly at your side, intertwining the arms of the two of you, but the smiles and looks continued on everyone you both passed. “Your team got in touch too, (y/n), I told them you would get in touch around 1900 hours.”

“I’m starting to get tired my love, when can we go back?”

Moonbin commented, pulling your attention, pressing the point on the bracelet you wore, knowing it was your point of connection, you doing the same with his.

“I just want to look at a few more things, I also need to stop by a friend’s house to see how she is, so let’s go, okay?”

“I'll pass on the information,” they could both hear the noise of Soobin's computer keyboard, returning to the path they had both started doing almost every day for the last two weeks in the hope of finally getting some information, because you could feel that you’d find something, that there were signs of the presence of the Black Pirates, although you still couldn't find any physical proof. “Minhyuk wants to talk to you, he and Niki have been planning some things, but they need some data that only you have.”

“Okay, shall we go then?” Moonbin answered for the two of you, intertwining your fingers together, the beep that indicated there would be no more contact made you both relax a little. Both continued to walk silently, a few handshakes here and there, especially as you had endeared themselves to the group of refugees over the past four months. “This friend -”

“She's a friend, but she occasionally gets information for me,” your voice was low amidst smiles, Moonbin also not very different from you, “I helped her on our first day here, since then she insists on meeting me and pass on any type of information possible.”

“Does she know why we’re here?” You denied getting closer to Moonbin when they passed through a narrower area, entering the middle of the ravine that existed, that part being for the first refugees and people from the region who refused to leave through the mountains. “When you say you saved her...”

“Gangbang,” the sigh that came from Moonbin already telling you everything you needed to know. “It was a common thing to happen here, but since we arrived, it has decreased considerably.”

“I believe you, Soyeon and Jihyo have something to do with all of this, right?”

“Maybe,” two smiled, stopping at one of the first stalls, finding Moonbin’s informant who walked away looking for his ‘order’, making the two of you resume the conversation. “Let’s say there was a reason for Eden to agree and stop the investigation into the bodies and body parts that appeared around the camp.”

“That’s why Minhyuk, Niki and Kook disappeared every now and then saying they would get information?” Your nod made Moonbin laugh before finding the package that was wrapped in a bundle of clothes. “Seven, right?”

“If it’s not too much to ask, young sir,” your eyes took in the twitching of the muscles on Moonbin’s face, you probably wouldn’t look as different as he did. You both hated it when those people considered themselves inferior to you, treating you in a formal way, “the night has gotten considerably colder, I would like to know if you could provide at least one blanket, you can take it from the coupons, if so -”

“Seven coupons and three blankets will be left for you overnight,” Moonbin’s voice was firm, his jaw as tight as his words. “It’s the least I can do considering what you and your family do for me and mine,” his eyes fell on you, the refugee’s eyes also falling quickly before looking away, trying not to make you uncomfortable, “we’re going to be relocated soon, but I will make sure that whoever is here supervising keeps our agreement.”

�� “Thank you, young sir!” The refugee's smile made you smile along with Moonbin, your heart sinking as you noticed how precarious life was in that place, but at the same time, there was nothing you could do. Your hand quickly went to the bag that fell on your side, handing over a piece of food that you had exchanged just now. The smile growing when you saw the sparkle in the eyes of the man in front of you, you felt Moonbin's hand gently caress your waist. “Your wife is as kind as you, thank you very much!”

Neither of you denied that phrase, Moonbin just pulling you closer, because even though you weren't involved, the affection between you was genuine and, probably, he had noticed how heavy your body was. You blamed the eight men, which was the reason you were in that place, because you seemed to be affected considerably more than everyone else, everything affected yourself more than Moonbin, which was the main reason he led the initial interactions, you coming in later, normally when he believed it was ideal for the interaction to happen.

“Thank you and let us know if you need anything.”

His speech was genuine, even though you needed to watch yourself whenever you went out, it was the moment you could most allow yourself to react to everything, even under Soyeon's watchful eye.

“You should keep an eye on her, young sir, she’s been turning heads around the camp.”

Your eyes found your hands clasped in front of your body, ignoring Moonbin's comment, your mind going back to all the events of the first month you and your team arrived. No matter how much information had been collected, no matter how much people deserved it in a certain way, the bloodstains seemed always present on your hands, even though you didn't always actively participate, there was no denying that you participated in some of the sessions, that they affected you more than others.

You had known the best and worst of human beings.

It seemed like nothing would surprise you, but still, you found yourself affected by how cruel and vile the human being could be, even though you had gotten used to it in a certain way, the constant torture that occurred...

“Where is your friend’s house?”

Instead of responding, you just intertwined your fingers with his. Moonbin would occasionally squeeze your hand, a reminder that he was there. Fortunately, your informant's house was not too far from his informant's, making it easier for you two to meet them.

“You finally brought the husband!” You squeezed Moonbin's hand, pulling him to stand beside you, both of you with a smile as you found your informant leaving her tent, the children she looked after not far behind coming to hug you, welcoming Moonbin openly, with the same energy. “I really wanted you to show up today,” the informant's arms quickly wrapped you in a hug, the whisper on the edge of your ear, making it as if ice were placed on the back of your neck, with the drops cascading down your spine, "we need to talk."

“Can you take care of the children here?”

Before he could say anything, the informant was quickly pulling you into the house without waiting for a response.

“I need her inside, but the kids were wanting to play in here for a bit, can you watch over them for a bit dear? Thanks!" You held back a laugh, but the exchange of looks between you and Moonbin already informed him that there would be no problem but considering what you had told him about the relationship with the informant, it didn't take much for him to understand that staying behind was better. “Damn, I knew he was hot, but fuck, you got lucky, my friend!”

“He really is one of the good ones,” you laughed and noticed the other girl looking over her shoulder, imitating her, soon after finding Moonbin with a child on his shoulders, two others sitting on his feet and hugging his legs while two others were hanging on each of his arms, all six of them laughing, making your heart soften a little, considering it had been a while since you had seen Moonbin smile like that. “What did you need to talk to me about?”

“You're attracting a lot of attention lately,” your eyes widened slightly as the two of you went to a more private corner, with the view of the entrance making it clear that this was important information, the smirk that appeared on the informant's lips making you slightly nervous but looking forward to the possibility of news about the Black Pirates – finally. “Some people came here asking about you, eight men more than others...”

Your heart stopped for a moment, a glimmer of hope emerging, pushing the memory of the last encounter with them to the back of your mind, the fact that everyone at Strickland was after them despite the incompetence of those on the Search and Capture Team, the use of the White Giants – in particular, their failure to capture any of the leaders – didn't reassure you at all, but still, it seemed like they were always a few steps ahead of everyone.

The image of the eight seen on your computer screen four months ago, stuck in your mind, a constant reminder of their influence on your life. Thanks to Jeongin and Minho, you knew that no one had heard from the leaders in the last nine months, which means that they wanted you to find everything, that they trusted you not to say anything to anyone and that killed you inside, because you didn't want no one to catch them if you weren't close by, they had a lot of answers to give you before Strickland destroyed them for society completely.

You owed it to your brother.

They owed it to you.

"How you…?"

“They came asking everyone, until they knocked on my door, but since the first one came, all the other seven came straight to my door,” your eyes traveling over the informant's features, searching for any sign of a lie, trying to remember all the things Jisung had taught you about body language, “they know about your man too.”

“What were they like?”

“Do you know who they are?”

You sighed, looking at your feet, cursing yourself for having chosen to wear sandals, the red sand from the rocks mixing with the desert sand leaving your feet reddish, the friction of the sand with the straps of the sandal bothering you slightly, but that was the first moment that you realized that, how much had you allowed the leaders of the Black Pirates to control your life?

“I just want to know what they look like, in case I run into them.”

Your eyes never left the floor, the words weighed heavily on your chest, the informant's eyes passing over your entire face, noticing the words hidden in the middle of your response. She sighed before starting to describe the eight men who were visiting her whenever they could, the fact that they had come to her wanting to know about you more than once, not helping to calm your heart that seemed to be beating faster and faster in your chest, the blood pulsing in your ears.

So, they were there.

Again, you were in the same place.

Again, they wouldn't find you.

Were you or them the coward for never meeting?

Were they sorry?

The message in Howl's handwriting came back to you, were they protecting you? But why? After all that time... Have they always taken care of you? But if they did that, then why th-.

“Angel, are you okay?”

Angel was what she called you, the two of you agreed not to exchange real names, despite you lying about who you really were, saying you were part of an organization that helped people in precarious regions, the relationship you developed over the few weeks after you stopped a gangbang, it said more than any words you could say, you both knew, you both protected each other.

“Yes Flower, don’t worry,” your voice was weak, but the informant knew better than to ask, her eyes falling on you as she analyzed any hint that your face and body could tell. “Did they ever say their names?”

“No, they never did, but they never asked mine or yours either, but they knew exactly who you were.”

“Okay, if they come again, you can answer the questions that you know the answers, I want to know where this will lead.”

“But what if they -”

“I know how to protect myself,” you said quickly, her worried eyes meeting yours, “he’s not the only one I trust with my life, don’t worry.”

Before you could continue, three of the five children appeared running inside the house, huge smiles and drops of sweat running down their temples, Moonbin not far behind with the other two children, a huge smile on your friend's face, making you smile in response.

“They said they were hungry…”

“We also need to go,” your words were quick, the informant just nodded and stood up soon after. “Let me know anything, okay?”

You just exchanged glances, the informant's glances quickly going to the children, and you nodded. That was a silent agreement, if any of the boys showed up looking for you, one of the kids would come after you, the question was what you would do with that information. That was the second time in four years that they had contacted you, both less than six months apart.

Despite saying you were going to leave, you and Moonbin remained at your informant's house for at least another two hours, the sky was already a mix of orange and pink when you both left back to your team's Command Center. Your back burned with the feeling of eyes all over you, Soyeon was probably already tired of waiting, but she hadn't contacted you at all, just like none of the others had contacted you since Soobin said that Eden, Niki and Minhyuk they wanted to talk to you and Moonbin.

Your eyes roamed the entire space outside the ravine, looking for the eyes that burned into your skin, not long after finding Niki's eyes in the middle of some tents, your hand intertwined with Moonbin's, giving just a light squeeze to indicate that they were being watched, but you continued following all the way to the Command Center, Niki and Soyeon's eyes on you the entire way.

This all just made you ignore the other eight looks that followed you since you appeared among the tents, five below among the people, three above the ravine, also gaining visibility of Soyeon and Niki. With a simple sign, Hongjoong signaled Yeosang and Yunho to meet the others while his eyes remained on you, Seonghwa careful not to be seen, but never too far away to lose sight of you.

When he looked up one last time, he found Shinwoo's eyes already on him, bringing a slight fright to the ATEEZ captain. It wasn't long before footsteps were heard next to him, Mars crouching down beside him, eyes focused on you in the crowd before focusing on Seonghwa not far behind you, but curiously well camouflaged, considering neither Niki nor Soyeon acted in any way against him or any of the other four who were down there.

“You guys need to be more careful.”

“Yeosang was watching the entrance to the Command Center from the drone, Yunho had his eyes on the woman watching her steps,” Hongjoong sighed, finding Mars' eyes on him, already able to differentiate who was who he was talking to, noticing, along with Yunho and Seonghwa, the effect your presence had on them. “Shouldn’t you be more concerned about seeing all sixteen of us in the same space?”

Mars smiled without his teeth showing, his eyes wandering all over the space below them, the ravine was packed with people, possibly a lot more than the last eight days. He noted in his mind the need to talk to others, they needed to find out what was happening. Considering that the ATEEZ boys were more than interested in you, something he and the others had already expected, they needed to reconnect with the allies they had created over the years, Left Eye needed to be contacted and brought to the ATEEZ boys' side, at least until they can go over everything they need before starting to introduce ATEEZ to you.

“You should be more concerned about learning about this world and about (y/n),” Mars' eyes met Hongjoong's who analyzed everything he could of the older man's face. “You should have come to us if you wanted to know more about her, not contact her informant.”

"They are friends -"

“They’re friends by chance, but she’s still (y/n)’s informant and considering her actions when she came out of the ravine, she knows we’re here and keeping an eye on her.”

“And why would that be such a bad thing, considering you guys want us to meet her anyway?”

Mars's eyes swept across Hongjoong's face as he could see the wheels turning in the older man's head, wanting more than anything to get a small glimpse into who they were, their real relationship with you. Hongjoong couldn't deny that you were beautiful, what little he and the others discovered about you in the ruins’ bunker had already piqued his curiosity, clearly that of the others as well, your rankings within the Strickland Government only helping the curiosity become a nuisance remembering how little they knew and how much he hated being left out of everything that happened.

“Everything has its time to happen, if you show up now, it will not only ruin our plans, but it will cause a problem too big to be solved, like you visiting the main informant of the person you are watching.” Mars' harsh words were like a slap in Hongjoong's face. Despite not knowing much, they should remember that they are not in their universe, they should understand that all of this is for the greater good. “How is training with Cromer going?”

“Don’t you guys talk?” Mars seemed not at all affected, making Hongjoong run his fingers through his hair before sitting on the rock and looking at the sky, the wind already mild at the end of the day blowing against his face. “Better than yesterday, worse than tomorrow.”

Mars laughed awkwardly, sitting next to Hongjoong, his eyes roaming the entire space around and above them. The youngest holding back from asking since when they were in that race, the real reason for all that to happen, even if they said that the reason was you, that you were friends, some pieces didn't fit with the plot they had presented to ATEEZ four months ago.

“We need you to trust us,” Mars' voice came out weak, drawing Hongjoong's attention, meeting the older man's eyes on his gloved hands. “We know it’s a lot to ask, but you don’t understand the -”

“You guys talk about trust, but you left a message for her that we were in ruins,” Mars' eyes looked up in shock meeting Hongjoong's judgmental eyes before he removed the part of the paper that Jongho had torn up and kept with him, to prevent you from finding it somehow before handing it over to Mars who noted Iyaah's handwriting. “Go to the ruins to look at the stars, that’s what the whole paper said.”

Mars' head spun trying to understand why Iyaah sent that message, even though he knew exactly why. The arid air went down his dry throat, he needed to talk to the others, the message that Howl had left for you should be the only one you received, because if any of your team members found that message, it would be extremely problematic, especially if they turned it in for you.

“I'll talk to Iyaah about this, this shouldn't have happened...”

“How about you also tell us the truth about your relationship?” Hongjoong's voice was harsh, his accusing eyes never meeting Mars's who continued to look at the paper, the internal conflict clear in them, making the ATEEZ captain discover a little more of the secrets kept by the others. “You wish she had found the note.”

It wasn't a question, Mars knew as he just folded the paper and placed it in one of the pockets of his coat, his eyes never meeting Hongjoong's. What he and the others fought for so long to overcome, to get over you, seemed to crumble with the fact that you were so close and so far from them at the same time.

“Get your team together, I’ll get mine together and we’ll meet in the bunker, we need to make some things clear about everything.”

“I understand,” Mars stopped his movements, but didn't meet Hongjoong's analytical eyes, even though he felt them on his every movement. It didn't matter that he was younger, there was a reason he and the others were chosen, they had been through a lot that had hardened them, they managed to be what Mars and the others only pretended to be, but never for long enough, never to get the goal they wanted nor needed, never enough for you, for what you needed. “Is she really worth it?”

Mars' eyes finally met Hongjoong's and a smirk appeared on the older man's lips, returning to his original position, catching the younger one by surprise who managed to pretend normality, increasing Mars' smile as he noticed how much they had learned from the help from Uno and Wooyeon.

“I think you already have part of the answer,” eyes scanning every corner of Hongjoong's face before dropping down, so used to finding you among groups of people, as if they hadn't been there for the last four – almost five – years of running away from finding you, even if it destroyed them inside each time, that's why having you so close after so long made it difficult not to leave small signs. “Let’s go to the bunker, we’ll answer your questions, but you need to take this seriously,” a sigh and Mars’ eyes met Hongjoong’s eyes that had never left him, “everyone needs you to take this seriously.”

While everything was happening at the top of the ravine that you had just left, the feeling of eyes on you did not diminish at any time, Niki was already on your side, Moonbin on the other and you could see the shine of Soyeon's hidden knives as you walked by as she met with the three of you, staying a little behind, protecting your back whenever she could.

It was when a child ran away, splitting the four of you and your eyes followed the path they were taking, that you finally realized. A glimpse of Mars' eyes before the others blocked his view, but you could have sworn it was him. You'd recognize those eyes anywhere.

“(y/n)?”

Niki's voice was what brought you back to reality, his eyes were curious, while Moonbin's hands held your sides tightly, Soyeon was already looking in the direction your eyes had been fixed, her fingers finding one of the hidden knife butts near her hip.

“Nothing,” you said quickly, but eyes darting across the space near where Mars was, or you believed they were. “I thought I saw someone, but...”

"I'll check."

“How can you check if I don’t even know exactly who I saw, Soyeon?” Your voice was hard, the usual mask returning to your features, your eyes noticed when Soyeon nodded with her hands at her sides. “Now come on, we have a meeting, if anyone looks for me, I need you to inform me.”

“So, there is someone?”

“Niki, you went all over this place, we met the same people,” your, eyes fell on the youngest of the team, noticing a cut on his jaw, indicating that he had fought again to get information, “if you didn't see anyone who shouldn’t be here, the likelihood of me seeing it is slim, but yes, maybe someone will come at the behest of one of my informants, so send them to me.”

Your steps were tracked to the path you always took to return to the Command Center, which honestly wasn't as hidden as one would expect, considering it was the biggest tent of all, but hidden among everything else, there was a hidden passage to the giant bunker where everyone who didn't need to appear outside was located.

The footsteps of the four of you were quickly heard and Jihyo opened the tent for your passage. There were some bodies stretched out on stretchers, some being cared for, others sleeping, but you continued to follow until the end of the tent, passing through a cloth stretched to the ground that blocked the view of the space that those who went outside were sleeping, but most importantly it was beyond that, it was what hid a chest at the bottom.

Moonbin and Niki quickly lifted the trunk, Jihyo's hands going to the lever, freeing the ladder for you to be the first to pass. You were late for the meeting with Eden, as well as for the meeting with Minhyuk and Niki, but since no one had contacted you, your worry was almost nil, until you found Eden's eyes on you. They were tired and red, making you sigh to calm your reactions as everyone lined up next to each other waiting for Eden's first lines.

While everyone was getting organized, your eyes quickly glanced at the cameras that observed the entire refugee camp, the children running, people laughing, eating, having fun as best they could, but the truth was that you were looking for the camera that allowed you a minimum vision of your informant's tent. The hope of seeing at least one of them passing through the rocks.

“They found signs of the leaders' presence in the refugee camp to the south,” you held back the sigh that risked leaving your lips, just like the confusion that gathered in your mind. “Considering everything, including the work we have done in the last four months, we have five to seven days to organize everything and pass on the important data to whoever will be here taking care of this area.”

“Anything else sir?”

Kai's voice reverberated through the space. Only you and Kai had the freedom of a direct conversation with Eden, considering you were second in command and Kai was his shadow.

“Yes, but that’s a conversation I’ll have alone with (y/n), Kai.”

Everyone nodded and you felt Eden's eyes watching your reactions, knowing he had seen you looking at the cameras.

“Sir, I need to talk to my team and three more of ours, if you don’t mind.”

“No, you can go, it’s not that urgent.”

“Who knows, maybe you’ll rest your eyes a little in the meantime.”

Kai's comment made you, Moonbin and Jungkook hold back a laughter, while Eden just threw a warning look at the shadow that didn't care. That was the great thing about the blocker, how unfiltered people were, how little they cared about what they said, how little they cared about anything that wasn't logical.

“Kai is right sir,” although your face was serious, the tone of your voice informed the three who did not have the blockers behind their ears – meaning, Moonbin, Eden and Jungkook –, how much you were holding back your laughter. Eden's eyebrows arched making it even harder to hold back the laughter, but you, Moonbin and Jungkook managed it, thanks to years of training. “I don’t know how long each of the meetings will take, it’s better for you to rest in the meantime, if we can’t postpone it until tomorrow, of course.”

Eden's eyes analyzed your features before falling on Moonbin, Soyeon and Niki. The ones who were with you outside. The cameras were still on, some movements catching Eden's attention, but not enough for him to call anyone to take care of the matter.

“Wake me up as soon as you finish the conversations,” with a simple shake of the head, everyone began to go their separate ways to finish the day's tasks. Minhyuk quickly approaching you and Moonbin, Niki quickly staying by his side. “I hope you’re rested (y/n), you’re free for tomorrow.”

That was the warning he gave regarding the conversations that would follow. You already knew you weren’t gonna sleep, this warning was just the confirmation you’d needed. After your nod, Eden turned to the cameras where Jungkook was already pulling up some images, while adding others that Eden had pointed out. You knew that night would be long, but honestly, you had never been as awake as you were at that moment with everything that had happened.

Mingi held his head in his hands trying to ignore how much it throbbed, especially after analyzing the video of the Mirrors, how they reacted. His eyes went to the side, the others not unlike his own. His eyes met those of San and Seonghwa, all tired, but until they achieved mastery in reflecting the reactions of the Mirrors – at least at first –, the complete plan would not be shared with them.

Logan's voice was heard capturing the attention of all the ATEEZ boys who held back an irritated growl, after all they had asked for this, they had agreed to what had been proposed to them, but before anyone could say anything, the digital symbol of a bird surrounded by blue light took over the screen, making everyone exchange glances.

"But what-?"

Before any response could come, Mars' fingers touched the bird opening the message in front of everyone, ignoring the gazes of others. He had made an agreement with Hongjoong; they would share everything with them that came since the agreement, but regarding their questions, only when they managed to mirror all the possible reactions of the others.

“Stop trying to contact her in any way. If they do what needs to be done, the interaction will occur in the coming months. The Command Center already knows that you were in the three refugee camps two months ago, the last bait was taken at 1100 hours today, with the release of some of the members who were incarcerated. I expect a report on how the new recruits are doing by the end of the day. Deadline to start the interaction and replacement process: three months.”

Yunho's eyes fell on the Mirrors that lowered their heads almost instantly after Mars' voice ended. Wooyoung and Yeosang exchanged confused looks, just like San and Jongho, Seonghwa and Hongjoong absorbing any clue that the Mirrors could offer, meanwhile, Mingi approached him with slow and silent steps.

“Three months from now marks the first time we find out about her.”

Yunho's eyes met Mingi's worried ones before focusing on the Mirrors who seemed in a dilemma big enough to ignore the presence of Yunho and the others, but before Yunho or Mingi could approach Hongjoong to tell him that detail, Mars was facing everyone, the image of the blue bird quickly disappearing from the interactive screen. His eyes were hard, but anyone could see a gap of feeling in them, even if others couldn't identify it.

“What have you managed to memorize about what we gave you?”

Everyone was silent for a moment, Hongjoong slowly moving towards Mars who held the younger's gaze.

“Yeosangie,” everyone’s eyes fell on Yeosang who straightened his posture, waiting for Hongjoong to continue, “were you able to organize the drone and the data?”

“Yes,” everyone looked at the two curiously, but no one dared to say anything. Mars and Hongjoong seemed to have an internal power struggle going on between them. Yeosang timidly went towards the central computer, everyone's eyes curious on his movement that stopped between Hongjoong and Mars, waiting to see if anyone said something. "Can I show…?"

With a simple shake of the head from Mars and Hongjoong, everyone organized themselves to see what Yeosang had done with the drone, opening a file on the central computer, pulling out several files with different names, ages, careers, but the one that caught the most attention, it had been yours.

The screen was divided between Team A and Team B, with your sheet in the middle. It didn't take long for everyone to realize what Hongjoong had asked Yeosang to do, especially with the requests the captain had made to Wooyoung, San and Jongho. Yeosang turned to face everyone in front of him, meeting Mingi's eyes following the numbers they had worked on for the last month.

But it was the reaction of the Mirrors that made Hongjoong smile victoriously, but to his surprise, Mars' proud smile was thrown at him, just like the others who smiled at seeing what they had achieved with the little they were given. They had really chosen the right people to carry on the work that had been started when you turned fifteen. They knew that the ATEEZ boys could do for you, what they never did, that was the final proof they needed, the proof that Nightingale wanted to start the plan.

In Team A you could see the names and positions of everyone you had chosen two years ago. Bang Chan, second in command; Lee Minho, head of intercom, hacker; Seo Changbin, weapons chief and physical training; Hwang Hyunjin, shadow number one; Hwang Yeji, head of strategy; Han Jisung, body language expert; Lee Felix Yongbok, light spy; Kim Seungmin, in-person spy; Yang Jeongin, wildcard, second/third in command; Shin Ryujin, shadow number two; Lee Chaeryeong, chief technology officer.

In Team B, it involved the names of the people who were with you during the four months they had been with you, those that the ATEEZ boys had the most contact with, being able to understand more about how people who had the blockers behaved. Eden, team leader, one of the main superiors, (y/n) is his protégé; Choi Soobin, head of intercom, hacker; Kim Jongin (Kai), Eden's shadow; Jeon Soyeon, (y/n) shadow; Lee Minhyuk, head of strategy; Nishimura Riki (Niki), sneaky spy; Jeon Jungkook, head of technology and physical training; Moon Bin, in-person spy; Park Jihyo, weapons chief.

“From the little we managed to gather of information,” Yeosang went through the slides and explained the vision he and Hongjoong arrived at, the latter's eyes never leaving the Mirrors that observed everything curiously and with a smile that irritated Hongjoong more than anything. “With this, we came to the conclusion that no one on Team A has blockers, while on Team B, only three, technically two, did not: Moonbin, Jungkook and Eden.”

“And why are you so sure of that?”

The question came with a challenging smile on Lucky's face, but it didn't seem to affect Yeosang in the slightest, making Howl and Shinwoo glance at Uno and Wooyeon who nodded with a smile.

“Their behavior didn’t match anyone else’s,” Yeosang’s eyes fell on Yunho who nodded, knowing that those were the words he had said a few months before, “not to mention that they changed when they were around some, which then led us to understand what was going on, based on the little we knew about the blockers.”

“And you think (y/n) doesn’t have blockers?”

“We are sure.”

Despite Iyaah's question being thrown at Yeosang, it was Jongho who answered, bringing everyone's attention to him who just exchanged glances with the others who nodded, ending with Yeosang who indicated for them to switch places.

“How can you be so sure?”

This time it was Mars' turn to ask, his eyes curious, especially considering that he and the others always believed that you would use the blockers after everything happened, after they found out about your parents, the idea became almost certain, but such as always, they never got too close to be sure of the details.

“I watched Jungkook a lot while we were there,” the screen then focused on Jungkook's profile, a face that the others knew well enough to be uneasy at the idea of Jongho having been seen by him in some way, “he had moments, for so to speak, but I didn't interact with him at any point, if that was a concern considering the change in your postures," the Mirrors smiled even wider as they noticed how nonchalant Jongho was reacting, which meant everything was going better than before, as expected. “In the end, I realized that he is one of those who has the blocker, but he can turn the device on and off at will.”

“And what makes you think she doesn’t do the same?”

“Because she's good enough to not need a device to do that,” Jongho's eyes fell hard on Uno, almost weakening for a moment as he noticed the shine in the Mirrors' eyes, a shine he had never noticed before, “but I can't deny that I thought about it a lot during the weeks we had with her and it made me understand why you say that we need to learn to control our expressions.”

“Okay, elaborate a little more if you can.”

Jongho sighed exchanging glances with his friends who seemed interested in what he had to say, especially considering that he hadn't shared that final assessment with any of them, making Hongjoong rest his elbows on his knees holding his head by his chin waiting for what the youngest would have to say.

“First, I think she saw one of us on one of the last few days,” as everyone's eyes widened, Jongho was quick to calm them down, his eyes shifting away from Seonghwa, “but I believe she didn't recognize us, more specifically, she thought who had seen, was you, Mars.”

Seonghwa and Mars exchanged quick, worried looks, as this could be a potential problem. Especially after the paper Hongjoong had given to Mars with Iyaah's handwriting indicating that they were in the ruins.

“How are you so sure?”

None of them could contain surprise at Mars' question, as it contained no malice, but rather a tone of hope, especially considering the latest information that the ATEEZ boys had gathered. It meant that you still cared, that you still cared about them, as much as they still cared about you.

“I was close to them when she saw Seonghwa, but she didn't talk and took on an authoritarian tone with the others who were with her, but I could see her and Moonbin holding hands and he was reassuring her without the others noticing, in addition to preventing of Soyeon and Niki to go after the information.”

Seonghwa noticed when all the Mirrors let out a sigh of relief, which brought confusion to everyone else, after all they should have been irritated by the fact that Seonghwa had been seen and almost captured, but no, quite the opposite, especially by the smiles that everyone exchanged.

“And what else do you have to say about everything that has happened in the last few months?”

“We understand,” it was Hongjoong’s turn to respond Mars who turned his attention completely to the ATEEZ captain who was keeping a curious eye on all the Mirrors who seemed uneasy – for the first time – under his gaze, “in fact, the more I study everything, her in particular, I understand, but I can’t deny that the questions still make it difficult to fully understand what she represents in all of this.”

“And what is the question that bothers you the most?”

And with that simple question, the air became tense again, the power play between Hongjoong and Mars was palpable, only under everyone's curious gaze.

“What is your real relationship with her? And don’t give me the bullshit story about you being just friends, because your reaction is not that of those who were old friends.”

Everyone exchanged glances, especially when Mars stood up, exchanging a meaningful look with the others who quickly spread around the place. Mars' eyes were full of nostalgia, affection, and longing, which surprised all the ATEEZ boys, even if they didn't show it, which brought a smile to his lips before walking towards the central computer, waiting for some of the files that Shinwoo and Logan would get.

“We were friends, best friends even,” Mars smiled weakly pulling out recent images and recordings of you, like Strickland's weapon. The others saw the smile fade on his lips as he looked through the files, some of the others already approaching with similar expressions, “we are in this situation because we would do anything for her.”

Images and videos of you at different times appeared on the screen, some visions that the boys had already seen, especially during the period in the refugee camp, but what really surprised them was the subtle changes you allowed yourself to make when you believed no one was watching, as they realized that some of the footage was taken by the Black Pirates, the ones who were incarcerated, who had spent time with you.

“This is the latest,” Lucky handed a small flash drive to Mars who quickly connected it to the computer, opening the file, “Nightingale sent it with a warning notice.”

Everyone exchanged curious glances before the video started. Mars quickly called everyone to come closer, taking their place. Only when Mars turned on the video and the faint, hoarse voice on the other end could be heard did everyone begin to understand what was going on.

“Lee Junyoung, Member of the Black Pirates, asking for your forgiveness, sorry for not being strong enough,” some voices are heard in the background and the camera moves. The place was still a little dark, the space entirely covered in cement, but it could still be seen reflections of light on the floor that none of those present wanted to think too much about. “She’s here, I can hear her.”

Silence then ensues before footsteps join in with the slam of a door closing. Some murmurs can be heard, but the camera doesn't move, until your voice is heard, and it doesn't take long for your silhouette to be seen by the camera.

“Leave us,” you say looking at Lee Junyoung from afar, two more people with you, one being Jeongin, your third in command, the other, ATEEZ couldn't identify, but the others could by the angry murmurs that came out. Boots were heard, doors opening and closing, until you spoke again. “Did you really need to disfigure him?”

“Just because you’re soft-hearted doesn’t mean I need to be.”

“What else did he say?” Jeongin asked seriously, looking at the stranger who just shook his head with a sneer, with a simple exchange of glances between you and Jeongin, you took a step forward while Jeongin got closer to the other. “You know everything we discover needs to be reported, the only way to not do that is to deface the informant, what did he say?”

“Mom and Dad would be so disappointed to see you now.”

So that was Jeongin's brother.

Yunho's eyes fell on the Mirrors on the other side, everyone was visibly irritated, fists clenched and eyes hurting for the lack of blinking. This wasn't the first time they had seen a similar video. If there was a warning, it meant that the worst was yet to come.

“Your mother and father barely know the difference between self-benefit and government benefit, your argument is invalid,” you commented close enough that your voice came out clearly, harshly, your movements were precise, but the movements of your fingers and hands were delicate, you didn't want to hurt that informant any longer. “What did you say for them to destroy you like that?”

“(y/n), he is my prisoner -”

“You let us come in and talk to him, which implies that we can also ask our questions, the camera will support our version,” Jeongin said with a smart smile at his brother who just showed his teeth irritably, but before he could say anything, Jeongin pointed at the camera with his head. “Take advantage of it and say ‘hi’ to Minho, nothing ever goes unnoticed by his eyes.”

The brother just looked forward, muttering something that no one bothered to understand, but none of the ATEEZ questioned, possibly because you or Jeongin would say something if necessary.

“It looks like you need to improve your work, Yang,” your mocking voice and blithe smile brought a smile to everyone's faces, despite the situation. “I'm sorry, can you open your mouth so I can take your dental arch and contact your family?”

“After what I did, I don’t deserve this,” you had moved away enough for everyone to see your face, the kind smile that was also present in your eyes, almost like a warm hug. None of the ATEEZ boys have seen you smile like that since the refugee camp. “I informed you where the leaders will be, part of their possible plan, I don’t deserve it -”

“Okay, so you can repeat it for me, right? So how about helping me give you something minimally worthy and telling me your name or allowing me to see your teeth?” From your smile and Jeongin's quick movements, everyone understood that you were being given permission to check his teeth, before Jeongin walked away with his eyes fixed on his brother. “Thanks, I know you didn’t need to do that.”

“Oh please, he’s a rebel!”

“Okay, that’s enough, you come with me.”

Jeongin pulled his brother away, leaving you and Junyoung alone again, your kind eyes never disappearing, the smile that the boys loved to see on your lips was present, even if masked by a certain regret. Maybe you really wouldn't have followed in your parents' footsteps and put on the blocker.

Instead of words, you walked away, taking a piece of cloth and turning on the tap, allowing the water to soak the white cloth before returning to Junyoung who moved in fright. After a while, he relaxed and you felt allowed to get closer.

“I’ve heard about you before, but I didn’t believe what they said.”

“Who was talking about me?”

“The others, and... And the leaders.” With that sentence your movements stopped, they could see the blood draining from your face, but you quickly removed the scared expression, focusing again on cleaning what you could of Junyoung. The white of the cloth already pink. “Many fear you, after all, you are Strickland's weapon,” you both laughed before Junyoung started coughing, blood could be seen being spread across the front of the chair, getting some on your clothes, but you barely seemed to care. “When those who managed to escape talked about you, in moments like this, what you were like, I'm not going to lie, it was hard to believe, but the leaders were always supportive and said that if we could wish for anything if we were captured, it wasn't to be part of those who managed to escape, but rather be the ones who fell into your care.”

“Did your leaders say that?”

You laughed as if you couldn't believe it, but everyone could see a small sparkle in your eyes, even if it was small and momentary.

“Whenever they go out in public there are rumors that your name is spoken by them, almost like a prayer,” your cynical laugh made a small, choked laugh come out of Junyoung, “I'm serious! We always wondered why they always said your name, but they never told us.”

“And they won’t ever tell you, but don’t worry about it.”

“There is a rumor that they are in love with you,” your eyes widened to the point were you able to disguise or regain the serene expression you had, Yunho noticed how uneasy the Mirrors were with that sentence and your reaction, poking Hongjoong who removed his eyes from you for the first time since the beginning of the video, a smart smile appearing as the gears in his mind worked, “it's not hard to believe that's true, considering they always say your name and when someone escapes, your name is the first one they ask, listening first to those in your care.”

“What did you say to Yang?”

Your voice became weak after a while, Junyoung understood that this was the moment he should remain silent and answer the questions.

“There is a rumor that something big is going to happen, but no one other than the leaders know about it, they are going to one of the old bases to better elaborate the plan, but only they will go, in the meantime, some of our events will take place, as a way of distraction so none of you find them.”

“And what did you say that caused you to be disfigured involves this rumor?” A pause and you sighed, the cloth in your hand already completely red before getting up and heading towards the sink, the sound of running water filling the space along with Junyoung's coughs and heavy breathing. “Can you tell me a little about this rumor?”

“For some time now, there have been places and moments where no one is allowed entry or transit, the leaders are always cloistered, one or the other appearing, almost as if they disappear, the difference is that we know more or less where they are, so technically we can contact them, but still, we can't. It’s something they don’t want to see get away and it involves one of Strickland’s old bases.”

Your eyes analyze every word said with every visible injury on Junyoung and a small strand of brightness appears in your eyes before you look away and focus on cleaning his arm, leg, and chest, who remains silent watching your movements.

“I can make it quick if you want.”

That was the only offering you could make.

It didn't take much for others to know what you meant.

“There’s one more thing, something I didn’t tell you before, but I think they would like you to know,” your lips formed a thin line and you just nodded, knowing that he had accepted your proposal. “Refugee camps are excellent places to get information and visibility about what is happening within the government, there are rumors that some members are being sent to different camps to get information and make the movement grow, at least one of the leaders is always there present in at least one of the places when something like this happens.”

Your head nods gently as you absorb that information, they could see you questioning of what to do with that information before deciding to address it further. The memory of you spending four months in the refugee camps comes back to each of them, the fact that you didn't show surprise once you heard they might be there, your eyes were always more attentive than they normally are, the constancy of your presence and random visits to the informants you achieved during the period you were there.

“I promise I will be quick and that I will make sure your family, if they are from here, know about what happened to you.”

A small murmur was heard before they noticed you remove a knife from the boot you were wearing. Your eyes were now red, the shine of unfallen tears still present.

“Won’t they find it suspicious if you kill me here with me tied up?”

“I can’t ask that of you.”

“You're not asking, I've already greatly dishonored everything I fought to achieve, give me at least this, even though I don't deserve it.”

A small 'okay' was heard before you stabbed the knife into the arm of the wooden chair, close enough for him to reach, but not that it felt like it was on purpose, considering how close you had placed it to his arm, his reflex in the act, making everything clearer for anyone who wants to see the cameras again.

You sighed and walked away, everyone being able to see the change in your features before your right hand was raised and the noise of it meeting Junyoung's face was the only sound heard before the resound of complaints of pain made by him.

“You're as useless as the others, do you think I didn't already know everything you told me? That only buys you another week of cold showers followed by beatings, if you’re going to waste our time, let’s spend it on something that’s really worth it!”

You walked away, making your expression clear to the camera before heading back to the sink, turning on the tap, letting the sound of the water be the only noise possible. Junyoung quickly moved his hand to grab the knife, using his right leg to push the handle closer, blood quickly forming on the clothes in contact with the blade.

Once he had it, he ran the knife through the bonds quickly before staggering towards the sink. When your eyes met his, they were soft, almost like an apology before Junyoung launched himself at you, who quickly managed to pin him to the ground, sitting on his chest, your knees holding the arms of the Black Pirate who was trying to break free, even though he knew it was useless.

Your face was a mixture of anger and regret, but everyone knew that only the latter was for the situation you found yourself in at that moment. Junyoung's groans were loud and they saw your arm stretch, indicating that your hand was either wrapping around his neck or his face, from your response of pain, Junyoung had bitten you, the sound of the door was quickly heard before you forced the arm to the side, probably your hand still trapped between Junyoung's teeth, while your other hand found the discarded knife next to you, digging the blade into the spot on your neck that you knew would be a quick and painless death – or at least it was what the studies said – causing Junyoung to stop completely.

It was the movement of closing and opening your eyes that your expressions changed from regret to rigidity, to Strickland's weapon, your head raising and possibly finding Jeongin and the others who were participating in the interrogation previously. You looked back at Junyoung, moving closer to force his mouth open to free your hand, your voice low enough that it could have gone unnoticed if it hadn't been highlighted by whoever had access to that recording.

“They are proud of you, don’t blame yourself for anything.” You finally backed away, pulling out the blood red knife, wiping it on Junyoung's clothes before facing the others. “I need to go to the infirmary, Jeongin and Ryujin stay here and take care of his body, let the others know that I'll be there,” your eyes ventured to another corner before a cynical smile appeared on your lips. “Oops!”

The recording is then cut off.

Mars' eyes fall on the ATEEZ boys who watch slightly intrigued by you. The others had their heads lowered, paying respects to what Junyoung had done. They would make a statement later, but now Mars needed to finish answering the question that Hongjoong always addressed when they were around, and he felt the urge to challenge the older man.

“This is the new (y/n), now let's show the one we know,” Mars' hand found a flash drive that was in Shinwoo's hand. The steps were quick towards the computer, your image so close and clear that it could have been you there, but it wasn't you, it wasn't the (y/n) they had known, they had failed you, not just one or twice. That situation was one they wanted to avoid when they programmed everything all those years ago. “All the files we have on her and Strickland, are elsewhere, but if you want, we have some files here,” he pointed to the clutter of boxes the others had brought in before focusing on the computer again, “I'll also request Nightingale to delay the plan, just enough for us all to be in agreement.”

The ATEEZ boys' eyes widened, Hongjoong watched Mars very carefully, trying to figure out if there was some kind of prank with that line, but Mars' face was as serious and true as the other times they had talked and exchanged information with each other.

They would share the plan.

ATEEZ would know everything.

They were ready, even if the Black Pirates leaders weren't.

It was the fifth time that you managed to knock Seungmin to the mat, a victorious smile danced on your lips each time it happened, but this time, he was faster, managing to trip you, making you fall on your back while he climbed on top of you, getting between your legs, Seungmin being on top, your legs wrapping around his waist while he held your wrists with one hand, the other going against your right thigh, trying to reduce the pressure you were putting on his waist. You noticed his eyes fall to the side of your body, a small sigh of relief leaving his lips when he noticed that your stitches hadn't opened.

“It took a while, but you did it, Minnie!”

Changbin's teasing made everyone laugh, including you, but Seungmin just brought his face closer to yours, mere centimeters away, his lighthearted smile present as his eyes roamed your face and neck.

“If you’re going to kiss me, you better do it soon.”

“You sure would want that, wouldn’t you boss?” Instead of moving away, he brought his face closer to the hollow of your neck, before nibbling the area, making you hold back a moan, but squeezing his waist between your legs, making him laugh against your skin. “It looks like the brat hasn’t been tamed in the last few sessions.”

“Maybe you, Minho, Jeongin and Chan should visit me more often.”

Your eyes met and Seungmin's lips approached yours before he bit and pulled your lower lip between his teeth, making you meet his lips and begin a real kiss, receiving some comments from the others present, bringing a laugh from both of you as his face hid in your neck again.

“Dibs next practice so (y/n) can be my partner!”

You heard Chaeryeong's voice loud enough to make everyone laugh before your fingers found the back of Seungmin's left hand and he quickly released you, you doing the same with his waist. The sound of a phone ringing quickly caught Changbin's attention and he quickly walked away while Seungmin helped you stand.

“Boss, Minho needs to talk to you,” the satellite phone being handed to you by Changbin, his eyes were confused and slightly scared as your fingers found the phone, “he said it’s urgent.”

Everyone exchanged quick glances, organizing to leave the training hall while you held the phone to your ear, trying to calm your breathing.

“Speak.”

You heard Minho sigh on the other end of the line.

“It appears that one of the leaders of the Balck Pirates has been captured,” your breath caught in your throat, your gaze fixed on a spot on the mat, your mind going a mile a minute, “there is no confirmation of this yet, but from the way he was captured, they are saying he is one of the leaders, so he is being treated like one.”

"How much time?"

“They should arrive at Guardian’s Island in thirty minutes,” you can hear Minho’s fingers fast against the keyboard, indicating with your hand for everyone to follow behind you, they needed to get to Guardian’s Island as quickly as possible. “Jeongin, Hyunjin and Jisung are trying to get information, but as our team is selected to take over the island from tomorrow, we will be responsible for the leader,” your breathing came out heavy and relieved, Changbin already accelerating the car, your eyes met with Yeji who was just waiting for Changbin to leave first. “Once we got the information, Chan was able to move our shift forward somewhat, so our shift will start at 1900 hours.”

“Okay, I'm on my way with the others, we should arrive in fifteen minutes.”

“I’ll ask one of the boys to update you when you get there, don’t forget to take a shower, stinky.”

Your laughter mixed together, capturing the attention of Yeji, Ryujin and Chaeryeong, who shared the car with you.

“Maybe you should update me, right Minho?”

“If I go with you, who will be sure where the leader will be and who he will be with?”

“Touché!” Your laugh was fun, joyful even, but your mind was racing a mile a minute thinking about everything that had happened in the last sixteen months. “Don’t lose him, Min, send Chan to watch the door, I want Jeongin and Jisung on guard, ask Hyunjin to meet me at the entrance to update me, don’t forget to send us our communication points.”

Quickly, you connected the cars, thanking Chan, Minho and Seungmin for the idea, which was more important at that moment than ever before. The last thing you needed was superiors knowing what you were planning to get even a minute alone with the potential leader. As soon as you explained the matter, Changbin and Yeji accelerated the cars, allowing you to arrive on the island in ten minutes, the siren that was used by only a few Strickland teams, helping considerably to make that happen.

“Fifteen minutes away,” was the first thing Hyunjin said, already standing next to you handing over the paperwork that Jeongin had recently obtained. Your hand quickly went to your side, a movement that didn't go unnoticed by the shadows that were quickly beside you. "How are you?"

“What are the updates?” Hyunjin let out an irritated sigh, but did as asked while everyone made way for you and your team. “Who is escorting the leader?”

“Yang, Jeongin’s brother,” you rolled your eyes, letting out a low growl that only the shadows heard holding back the laughter, after all you were in public, on Guardian’s Island, you needed to contain your reactions to a minimum. “Jeongin said he’d take care of it, after all, even though they captured the leader -”

“They’re not in charge of overseeing Guardian’s Island, yes,” your complement received a simple nod of agreement, barely noticed by you as your eyes skimmed over the information Jeongin had gotten. “Don’t you have any photos? How did they manage to catch this leader?”

“They decided that until we know who he is, the image will not be released in any way,” before you could argue, Hyunjin continued his monologue, pushing one of the doors that led underground for Ryujin to pass and then you, “he was captured during a rebel performance by the Black Pirates, considering everyone went to protect him, they believed there was some reason.”

“It’s not something they’ve ever done before, we can agree on that,” your eyes skimmed over the transcript that Jeongin had managed to grab, it was his brother going over what had happened and how many had been captured and why he believed he had caught one of the leaders, as well as the transcript of his conversation with one of his superiors, Park Jinyoung. “Are Jeongin and Jisung already in position?”

Your eyes finally looked up, meeting Hyunjin's looking around them before focusing on you and nodding, allowing a small smug smile when he noticed no one was near them.

“Your communication point,” he finally delivered the point you and the team shared before delivering Ryujin's, “Minho said that Chan was also already positioned in the possible containment room, you just need to go take a shower and stop by the Infirmary to see the cut, or at least use a cover up for it, and we will tell you where it will be.”

So that was the reason for the smile that you could now also see present on Ryujin, but before he could say anything, Minho's voice appeared in his ear.

“Stinky, Chan has your uniform and bandages if you want them, Ryujin will stand guard until you are ready and Hyunjin will escort you to the floor the leader is on.”

“And why the hell don’t you guys want to tell me where he’s going to be?”

“Because we know you enough to know that you will ignore everything and everyone to get a second alone with the leader,” Chan's laugh in your ear made you roll your eyes before opening the folder that Hyunjin had given you again, looking for any information you may have missed, “and also because we still don’t know where they’re going to put him, we have three options, but until he arrives, we can’t be sure.”

“Okay,” you sighed, handing the folder to Hyunjin who was smiling victoriously, making you lightly slap his face, bringing a laugh to his throat before speeding up your pace, standing next to Ryujin, “we are a few steps away from the bathroom, Ryujin will wait outside after confirming that no one is there, Hyunjin will stay downstairs as an extra eye for the possible leader's arrival.”

Everyone agreed with that line, Hyunjin quickly turned around when Ryujin emerged from inside the bathroom confirming that it was clear to enter. Thankful that no one was present, your fingers were quick to release the freezing water against your skin, making your entire body twitch and the scar on your side look freshly made, but you needed it, needed the shock, needed to think clearly.

You didn't know who had been captured, hell, you didn't even know if you had actually been one of them or a pawn in the game they were playing. Despite everything, your mind couldn't stop thinking about the last sixteen months since their first contact in four years with you, that this was the third contact – you hoped – they had made.

As soon as you got out of the shower, Ryujin was back inside the bathroom, your clothes, bandages and personal items on the bench next to her. Your hands were quick to dry every part of your skin and hair as best you could, your mind thinking about all the possible scenarios that this could all bring if it were true or not.

“You don’t seem to believe he’s one of the leaders.”

Your eyes fell on Ryujin who was looking at you in the mirror in the entrance sinks, you scoffed before placing the used towel in the basket and approaching you friend, picking up your things. The pendant around your neck weighed considerably more than at any time in the last two and a half years. Ignoring the reflection of gold and glass in the mirror in front of you, you held Ryujin's gaze who gave you a smirk before shaking her head, still waiting for your answer.

“They always did everything they could to not get caught, why would that change now?”

Ryujin seems to agree and you notice her gaze fall on the scar on your side, the stitches still holding the irritated, pink skin together. You knew that she and the others blamed themselves for that, her, Hyunjin, Jeongin and Chan in particular.

“We were mobbed,” your voice was soft, Ryujin's scoff along with the roll of her eyes made you laugh instead of getting annoyed, “we were outnumbered and they knew the area better than us, not counting the interference at the points of communication, you have to stop charging each other for things that are beyond our control.”

“Look in the mirror and repeat these words and I will start to believe.”

You both laughed, but Ryujin laughed when you threw one of your boots towards her, hitting the girl's hip. Thanking you for the lapse of thought in what was happening at that moment, you left Ryujin to clean herself up in the bathroom along with Chaeryeong and Yeji who were following close behind, heading to meet Hyunjin who was holding the gun with his arms tensed while you connected the communication point and fastened the buttons on your wrists.

“Hyunjin?”

“They have already arrived,” his speech was quick, his gaze directed towards the entrance door, guiding yours along, understanding the reason for the tension due to the countless cameras there and the number of reinforcements that had been called to the entrance. “According to Minho and Jeongin, all the superiors were called, not only from National Security but the main politicians as well,” your eyes met and you swallowed knowing what that meant, “they believe we have one of the leaders.”

“Any news on the others?”

“The girls will watch the entrances and exits, I will watch the floor together with Jisung and Jeongin, Minho will watch the cameras directing where everyone should go, Chan will watch the door to the anteroom where you will be, Changbin will watch our back so that no one follows us, Yongbok and Seungmin will be our extra eyes and possible distractions if necessary.”

"OK."

Your eyes fell on a small spot hiding near the reinforcements imposed at the entrance, a small smirk left your lips when you noticed Changbin approaching cautiously so as not to be noticed.

“Released, fourth floor, room six.”

Your steps were quick as Minho's voice indicating the location where the captured leader had been taken was informed. You could barely hear your and Hyunjin's footsteps on the floor of the building, the blood pulsing in your ears and the heart that felt like it would come out of your mouth. If everyone was going to come, it meant that whatever time you got was advantageous. Chan had said that he managed to buy enough time for the superiors to arrive so that you could have your time alone, but that the corridor would be occupied not only by your team, but also by whoever was responsible for keeping watch over the island until the shift change.

As soon as the elevator opened, the floor was full of people, both from the government and researchers, including some politicians of little notoriety. Everyone clearing a path for you as soon as they noticed the doors opening. Hyunjin right behind you, finger on the trigger if necessary, your eyes, however, were fixed on the first door you would have to go through. Everyone seemed to hold their breath, releasing it only when clearance was indicated and Hyunjin turned around, guarding you as you entered the second anteroom before the door that connected you with the corridor that would direct you to whoever had been captured.

The words coming out of the satellite call you received made your entire body vibrate, they had finally captured one of the leaders. You would finally have your answers, but your body was tense. Who would have been captured? What questions would you ask? Should you ask the questions that have been swirling around your mind for the past two years?

The door that connected you to the corridor that would make you see one of the leaders face to face after two years seemed heavy, your feet were planted on the floor, your hands were shaking slightly. Which one did you want to see? All of them, that was the answer, but only one was there, a few meters away from you, two doors and a corridor separated the two of you. So, who exactly did you want to see?

The faces of each of the eight leaders flashed through your mind. It had been four years already – almost five – how different could they be? How would they be? Did they miss you as much as you missed them? Your eyes closed and you shook your head nimbly, it didn't matter how the room rotated, you needed to get in there without those thoughts, without those feelings.

With a sigh and a slight shake of your body, you finally raised your hand, the fingerprint coming into contact with the reader, the keyboard opening so you could enter your code, the camera turning on so you could show your badge, the identification was ready, complete. The door opened, the corridor was busy enough that it seemed small, but silence soon fell and people pressed themselves against the wall of the corridor, some even opening the doors so it would give you more space to walk.

Although this was a common habit, considering your history – both family and career –, it still bothered you a little whenever something like this happened. Never knowing whether it was respect or fear, even though you knew that fear was a feeling, therefore it shouldn't exist, but then why did you feel your hands were sweating? Why were the thoughts that had been running through your mind since you received the call, were about feelings?

Chan was standing in front of the door that would allow you to see who had been captured, the solid steel door making you question a thousand and one things, especially if you should really go through it. His eyes fell on you, a chill passed down your spine as you noticed how he held the gun. It was obvious that everyone would want to see one of the leaders of the Black Pirates up close, but never before you, even if force had to be used to do so.

The Black Pirates and their leaders were yours and everyone in that hallway knew it.

With a sigh, you nodded to Chan who returned it with a purse of his lips and a step to the side, just enough for you to do your ID check. As soon as the confirmation tone was heard, murmurs and footsteps were heard behind, but with a simple glance over the shoulder and a few steps from Chan, many stopped and fell silent.

Respect.

Fear.

You couldn't tell, just like you couldn't tell if these feelings were directed at you or the person who was on the other side of the door, just waiting for your presence.

“No one comes in until I leave,” Chan nodded and they both exchanged quick glances. “Cameras?”

“Minho has already turned everything off, the room is yours to do whatever you want.”

“Anything, I’ll get in touch.”

Your fingers went to your ear, indicating the point of communication you had with the rest of your team. A small nod from Chan and quick 'oks'' were heard, confirming that everything was clear, that it would just be you and whoever was on the other side of the door.

With a quick movement, you disconnected your communication point, you could hear your team, but they couldn't hear you. You would be completely alone, at least until the superiors arrived at the compound, which you expected would take a while. The last voice you wanted to hear was Yongbok or Minho in your ear, at least until you got information, whatever they had to offer you.

When the click of the door was heard, it seemed like everyone in the hall held their breath, which was expected considering everything the leaders had been able to do in the last two, three years. The opening was small, just enough for you to pass through, a certain feeling of possessiveness came over you, not wanting anyone to see whoever was inside that room.

You did your best to hide everything deep in your soul, everything that had ever happened, everything they did to you. You needed to keep a cool head, it had been almost five years since you had seen or had contact with any of them, nothing since your birthday, your chest and neck becoming considerably heavy and you considered removing what brought that weight, but something always prevented you from doing so, even now that would probably consider best to take it off.

The closing of the door behind you sounded like a click, but your eyes remained on the floor, even after hearing the movement coming from the table in the center of the room. For a moment, you wished you had grabbed a notepad or the folders with the information about the Black Pirates' operations, even the folder with the information that Jeongin had gotten would have sufficed, but you were too eager to interrogate anyone, to be in the same space as any of them.

Pathetic, that's what you were.

When your eyes finally lifted from the ground, almond eyes looked back at you, mouth slightly open. His hair was longer, falling down the back of his neck, adorning his already perfect face. The stoic beauty was still there; did you expect it to be gone? That your lack of presence had affected any of them in the same way that their lack had affected you?

Your steps were shaky and you were grateful for your training at that moment, grateful for the number of times you had walked that route, ignoring the way his brown eyes roamed every part of your face, your body. Four years had already passed. You weren't the same little girl he knew.

“Is it strange to say that I didn’t expect it to be you?” Your voice was almost light, a smile struggled to appear on your lips. He was fine, he looked fine, that should be a good thing, right? “Did they treat you well?”

It wasn't until you sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the table, arms resting on the cold metal, that you finally looked him in the eyes. The almond-shaped eyes were slightly wide, staring at you. Everyone was beautiful, but Mars and him always had an ethereal beauty compared to others.

“Yes,” the thick and light voice made your heart beat faster, making you bristle at how much of an effect they could still have on you. The brown eyes went to his hands that were intertwined on the table, not far from yours, it was as if he was afraid to stretch them out, to touch you, as if he hadn't done that several times before. “They treated me well, yes, thank you for coming to visit me.”

His eyes finally met yours, but it was then that you noticed something missing from the face of the man in front of you. Despite everything, you noticed his eyes roaming your face, worried, as if you had said something wrong.

“Are you hiding your birthmark now?” He was taken by surprise; did he really think you wouldn't remember? One of the things that made him more unique in your vision?, didn't he remember how many times your fingers gently passed over the pink skin in the corner of his eye and temple? “Who had this idea? Lucky? Shinwoo?”

You laughed weakly, but when his eyes showed confusion and his body moved a little away from you, his knuckles turning white, you knew something was wrong. The two of you remained silent for a moment, just staring at each other, until he looked away, fingers playing between his hands.

The chair beneath you was moved lightly, catching the attention of the man in front of you, his eyes going everywhere but your face, settling on your body as you approached him, his eyes falling on your covered thigh of the uniform, your left hand resting on the table, not far from his arm, you can see the hair on his arm standing up.

It was when your right hand slowly went towards where the birthmark was, that something caught his attention. The man became agitated, even more so when your fingers lightly touched the mark, noticing that foundation stained your skin. He really was hiding it. Despite everything, it was the reaction that came afterwards that completely destabilized you.

“How do you know about my birthmark?”

The world seemed to open up under your feet. The table no longer supported you, you only realized that your body had fallen when the firm hands of the man in front of you held you by the waist, electric shocks being sent throughout your body. The touch was the same, the place he held was the same, the pressure was the same, the worried eyes were the same, but it wasn't him.

"It's not possible."

Your voice came out weak and low enough to be nothing more than a whisper, but you noticed when the man in front of you watched you curiously. There was no way they had done what you thought they did.

Confirmation came when the stranger's hands released your waist, one of them feather like on your back. Logan would never leave you completely free like that, not in the state you were in at that moment, but that wasn't Logan.

The voice was the same, the face was the same, the birthmark was the same, even the fucking body was the same, making you aware of how you were holding the stranger's biceps, a way to stabilize yourself since his hands were no longer around you. Logan would never leave you completely free like that. You needed to get out of there, you needed to get out of there now.

However, as always happened when you were around them, your body failed you, causing the stranger to wrap his arms around your waist again, your face coming into contact with his shoulder, his scent intoxicating you, Logan's scent, but he wasn't Logan. Yongbok's voice quickly reached your ear, but it seemed like nothing worked, that you didn't work, just like you never completely worked around him, around them, but he wasn't Logan.

A bang was heard and soon two arms wrapped around you, the stranger's scent quickly being replaced by Hyunjin's, it was then that you looked up, finding Changbin and Chan holding the stranger away from you. His worried eyes changed to irritated when they met those of your team. Your hand squeezed Hyunjin's arm, trying to make you think.

You had seen that expression before, Logan was angry, just like he rarely was, but that wasn't Logan. That could only mean one thing and you held back the cynical laugh that wanted to escape your throat. With a light tap of your fingers on Hyunjin's arm, he released your body a little more, when he saw that you were already able to stand on your own, he walked away, taking the gun and pointing it at the stranger.

The trigger seemed to scare him. Despite everything, his eyes fell on you, checking every part of your body, finishing on your face, looking for something you had no idea what it was, his eyes quickly became hard when he noticed Hyunjin approaching you, Changbin's arm putting pressure on the stranger's throat, but his eyes never left you, there was something different in Logan's eyes, but that wasn't Logan. Your steps were firm, determined, contrary to what was happening in your mind, but it was enough to make the stranger stop fighting Chan and Changbin, his eyes focused on you, the shadow of something unknown passing through the brown eyes so known, but so strange to you. A small sigh and closing of your eyes made you look at him a little more.

“They arrived and are coming here, what do you want to do?”

Chan's voice was hard, Changbin still held the stranger; Chan was facing you, waiting for orders; Hyunjin had the gun pointed at the stranger's head. Yongbok's voice was present again at your communication point, making you sigh and connect the point again.

“How long do we have?”

“Seungmin is distracting them with the capture information, but no more than ten minutes,” you sighed at Yongbok’s response, eyes falling back on the stranger. The questions just multiplying every second you stared at him. “Seven minutes.”

“Let him go,” the order reverberated through the space. When Changbin finally released the stranger, his eyes fell on you again, as questioning as yours. “I need one of you to keep watch, I’ll need to come back here after talking to the superiors.”

“Jeongin won’t be too pleased to hear this.”

You and the other three on your team exchanged small laughs, but the stranger's eyes never left you, making you extremely aware of his presence.

“Keep constant guard,” you said loudly and clearly so that even those listening through the crack in the shielded door guarded by Jisung could hear. “I'm going to speak to superiors, he's P15, do you understand?”

Everyone nodded and Yongbok's voice was present in your ear again.

“3 minutes, (y/n), you guys need to get out of there!”

“Chan, go back to guarding the door, make sure no one opens their fucking mouth, understood?” Everyone nodded and you pointed you head for them to leave, Changbin being more resistant to leaving you last with the stranger. “Changbin, we don’t have time.” The older man nodded and left shaking his head, you and your team were scheduled to be on guard duty, even if only from the next day onwards, so it wouldn't be at all strange. “This isn’t over, you hear?”

The stranger's almond-shaped eyes followed your every move, feeling his eyes burning into your back, but you did your best to ignore it. The image of him fighting Chan and Changbin comes back to him.

The door slammed behind you.

That wasn't Logan.

Jisung quickly hands you one of the rifles and you quickly pull the trigger.

They wouldn't do that.

The entire hallway is silent.

That wasn't Logan.

The release beep is triggered on the other side of the corridor which is completely silent as the door opens, five of the seventeen superiors enter with the mission of passing through the door behind you.

You need to find out who the stranger is.

Your mother takes the lead, her eyes falling on you with a proud smile, making you hold a confused look, probably she and your father finally had the courage to turn off the blocker after all that time after all. The door behind you lets out a clearance beep and you wait for them to enter until you hand the locked gun to Jisung, exchanging a simple look with Chan who shakes his head before taking his place in front of the door.

You needed to calm down.

You needed to think.

It was only when your fingers wrapped around a doorknob you hadn't touched in a long time, that you realized where your feet had taken you. It wasn't far from where the stranger was, but it was secret enough that the lock was old.

Your fingers were quick to search for the box of hair clips long forgotten in the corner. A smile formed, growing with each turn of the door, finally releasing Strickland's forbidden warehouse.

Your breath caught in your throat, feet planted on the ground, hands shaking and vision blurry.

You hadn't been to this place in five years.

For five years you've been trying to forget everything.

Five years ago you tried to meet one of them, but in the end, that didn't happen.

A small noise on the stairs made your feet move quickly and the door closed behind you with a soft click. Almost as if you had gone to that place yesterday, your feet knew exactly where to step, taking you to the painting that reminded you of the image you had seen a moment ago.

If the hair were black, straight, and with the birthmark on the eye and temple, you'd think you were looking at a painting of Logan, but that wasn't Logan. It doesn't matter the appearance, the smell, the touch... The one who spoke to the superiors a few stairs up, was not Logan. You needed another name for him, as you knew he wasn’t going away anytime soon.

The eyes passed over the frame, finding the small copper plate with the name of the artist (both the original and the person who made the copy) and the work. The Fallen Angel, by Alexandre Cabanel. It was at that moment that you named the first leader lookalike.

That wasn't Logan, so you'd give him another name, Angel.

The sigh took over the space, seeing Logan – or whoever Angel was – after so long had made your entire body stiffen without you realizing it. Your eyes roamed every possible place of vision, some paintings, painted ceramic vases, some vinyl records, the painting that was now on your back, so similar to the person who was a few floors above, so similar to Logan.

Despite everything, what hurt the most was the fact that it wasn't Logan, even after everything that had happened, they didn't go find you, they didn't have the courage to show their face to you. This could all just be a joke. A joke in extremely bad taste, because they would never do that, not after when you and your brother discovered what had happened in both dimensions with the respective ten Mirrors.

But still, Angel was there, a few floors up, talking to your superiors, a constant reminder that this was true, that they had really done it, but it couldn't be true, could it? Just as you hadn't seen each other for almost five years, you changed, they may have changed too, maybe that was just another plan of theirs to destroy you completely.

The lessons you've heard all your life, especially at Prestige Academy, getting stronger and stronger in your head. You were letting yourself be controlled by emotions, you were letting yourself fall into the temptation of the worst situation you could allow yourself to be in, you were letting yourself be controlled by the worst thing that could have ever existed, but at the same time you couldn't let go of the eight men. They seemed like they would never let you forget everything that happened, how they corrupted you before destroying you completely.

But no.

You were there, alive, breathing, thinking for yourself, making a name for yourself. Owning who you were, even if it was something they always told you to do, even though it seemed wrong, that was the best gift they could have given you. Your fingers familiarly passed over the pendant, the cool outlined gold on your fingers, the place where the eight pieces of shards joined together to form a single heart seemed to pop out more than usual, the gold meeting point being the only warm part of the entire pendant, the part they said it meant you.

Your hand quickly let go of the necklace and you felt your eyes burn, but no tears fell, just as they hadn't fallen in almost five years for them, just as they hadn't fallen in almost three years since your brother. They didn't deserve your tears; they were never there to wipe them away in the last five years, let alone after everything happened. They had completely abandoned you and you needed to accept that sooner or later.

The doorknob was cold against your skin. The silent turn followed by the quick glance to see if no one was nearby, your footsteps quickly fell away from the warehouse, or repository as your brother would like to call it. Your heart was pounding against your chest, as if you were doing something forbidden – which technically, you weren't doing anymore, thanks to your position – like the scared girl from years before who didn't know better than to trust eight strangers who occupied your heart and mind for years before disappearing completely when you needed it most.

Your feet quickly made their way up the stairs, the thoughts so airy that it took you a while to process that there was someone else on the stairs, only noticing when one of their hands grabbed your neck, squeezing just enough to cut off circulation, the person's body pinning you against you and the concrete wall, the constriction not helping you to have any type of reaction.

“He was mine, I got him on my own,” Yang, you wanted to say, but nothing came out, nothing but small sighs, which brought a bitter laugh from the older one. “You and your brother always thought you had the right to be in charge of everything, just because your family is responsible for Guardian’s Island, doesn’t mean you are better than anyone else, better than me.”

You could hear Yang's breathing at the base of your ear, you felt his hand running down the left side of your body. A heavy cough took hold of your throat, but before you could react, both of your hands were raised above your head, your body still pressed between his and the wall, your right leg restrained by both of his, you were an easy target, you needed to think and get out of there.

“We never thought we were better than anyone else,” your voice came out hoarse, broken, but you didn't let it affect you, your eyes never leaving Yang's face who had a cynical smile on his lips, mere centimeters from you. “It’s not his fault that he was always better than you, it’s not my fault that you couldn’t evolve enough, it’s not Jeongin’s fault that he’s better than you.”

“Is that why you fuck my brother?”

A cynical laugh came out of your throat, irritating him even more.

“I fuck your brother, yes, and hell!, you have no idea how good he is in bed!” You could notice how those lines affected Yang, hoping that he could release at least some of the pressure against your body so that you could let go of him. “His mouth then, fuck he knows how to use that mouth, one of my favorite things to do is sit on his face while he holds me against him, not caring if I'm suffocating him, just to hear me say his name, never his last name, he loves it when I cum on his face calling him Innie, or when he cums inside me, he -”

“So this is what you like?” Yang's face was red and angry, but you could feel his bulge in your hip. “Talking about what you do with -”

“No,” you cut him off with an amused smile, bringing your face closer to Yang, the tiniest millimeters between you, “but by how hard your cock is against my hip it tells me you like it.”

His lips pressed hard against your and you bit his lower lip until you tasted blood in your mouth, biting even harder when he tried to pull away. Shock reverberated throughout your body from the cut that was still healing on your left side. Yang's hands were no longer on you, but the force of the punch he threw against your wound was enough to make you fall to the ground, eyes watering in pain, lip almost bleeding from how much you were biting it, trying to hold back any kind of indication of pain.

“You will end up like your brother.”

A kick to your side, close to the scar.

A kick to your back, close to the back of the head.

A kick to the lower back.

Footsteps not far away, doors opening and closing, some murmurs.

Your eyes opened weakly seeing a remnant of Yang running away from you. A pained sigh left your lips, the footsteps and murmurs closer. You needed to get out of there. You need to go somewhere to recover. Where no one could find you in that situation.

The repository.

As quickly as you could, you dragged yourself down the stairs, your side hurting considerably more than any other part of your body. The two hair clips you had used before were still irresponsibly left aside, but you quickly grabbed them, opening the warehouse door again forcing your body inside, closing the door with a soft click.

The footsteps and murmurs present but muffled.

Your breathing was heavy, the pain still radiating throughout your body.

Your eyes closed heavily, trying to make you think about something else, calming your breathing. By fate's karma, your mind took you to the nine people who, for a long time, were the most important in your life.

Memories of you running through the forest, of the care that the eight of them had for you, how your brother looked at everything with an amused, proud, affectionate look. How much he trusted the eight to take care of you. When you went to the lake hidden in the forest, when you realized that the vision you had of the eight of them changed, how you became aware of their bodies, of their bodies against yours, of the touches exchanged, of the simple kisses they placed on your face, but never on your lips where you began to desire them most.

Even when you came up with the crazy-sounding theory that if they could travel between dimensions, that meant they existed in these others, that maybe it would be fun to find out who each one was in each reality. How sad you all were when you discovered the realities, but still, everyone said how smart you had been, creating scenarios with you in other realities in which you would be together the same at that moment.

Your mind just reminding you of how happy they made you.

Static returning to your ear, followed by Jeongin’s voice. Realizing that you had lost track of time. Your body no longer so sore. The cold sweat had long since stopped falling. Forcing yourself to stand, forcing a normal posture, ignoring the ache on your left side, trying to mask any possible moments of pain.

“(y/n)? Where are you? Your mother is looking for you.”

“Don't worry, I'm coming,” the voice was weak, but your feet were quick towards the door, your mind going back and forth between the past and who was at that moment with the superiors. A cynical laugh left your lips before you took the handle of the repository, sighing before turning it. “What the hell did you guys do now?”

You groaned, already imagining the headache that situation would cause.

There was no way they had actually done that.

Even though your feet directed you to the place you were before, your mind wandered to the corners of your room, wondering where you had hidden that diary. Still in disbelief at how stupid they would have to be, you managed to hold back your curiosity enough to join your team in the hallway, but you were quickly stopped by your mother, her curious eyes falling on you.

“He said he only talks to you.”

You were completely fucked.

"Why me?"

You managed to say, eyes staying up. The superiors all stood in the hallway alongside Chan, Jisung and Changbin, Hyunjin quickly appearing behind you as soon as the door that connected to the hallway closed.

“That's something we want to know,” the older woman's eyes were wary but curious, predatory almost. Something had happened since the last time you saw your parents, probably the combination of the trauma of what happened and the immediate use of the blocker had done what your brother always warned you it could happen, your parents had almost gone crazy, not being able to deal with everything. "Let's go then?"

You nodded, Hyunjin not leaving your side, Chan following the two of you into the room in which Angel was still present. Eyes fixed on his crossed hand on the metal table. The eyes do not change expression or direction at any time. Your mother told you to stay in a far corner, Hyunjin and Chan quickly staying on either side of you.

“We just want to know who you are and why they protected you,” Park Jinyoung spoke for what seemed like the umpteenth time and, for the umpteenth time, he was ignored by Angel who just closed his eyes, keeping his breathing steady. At least that hadn't changed, bringing a slight smile that you covered by running your hand over your nose. “Do you think she will be able to save you?”

“I don’t mind being saved, but I only talk to her.”

Angel's unbothered voice made you and the others hold back a laugh at the vein that popped out of Jinyoung's neck. He was one of the best known for his lack of patience.

“(y/n),” all eyes fell on you with Eden’s speech, except Angel’s who remained fixed on his hands, “can you please take charge of the interrogation?”

“Yes, sir,” almost immediately, Angel's eyes found you in the corner between Hyunjin and Chan who were still staring at the stranger, still not knowing why you and him were so close when they entered the room before you leave. “Is there a specific one or can I lead it naturally?”

“We want to know why he only talks to you.”

Jinyoung's voice was irritated, his eyes clearly angry at the fact that Angel ignored all the questions, and the use of torture was not possible until he identified Angel's hierarchical level within the Black Pirates.

“Unfortunately, I don’t know what to inform you General Park, but I guarantee that I will do my best to get the necessary answers,” you said in monotone, eyes focused on your feet receiving a scoff from Jinyoung who got up from the chair leaving you free to seat. Chan and Hyunjin on each side. “Good afternoon, I believe we have not been introduced, my name is (y/n), could you tell me yours so we can check the records?”

Your eyes finally landed on Angel's who was watching you with a hint of mischief, but no reaction could be seen on his face. They had improved reactions considerably in recent years, you could tell.

“When I informed you that I would only speak to you, I will keep my word and speak only to you.”

You held back your laughter. The eternal word game that always happened between you and them. Again, the doubt of who the person in front of you was, took place. Logan, Lucky, Uno and Shinwoo were the ones who always did this to you. That line meant he would talk to you, but only if you and him were alone.

“I'm happy to know that my fame has reached the ears of the Black Pirates thanks to the demand in my presence so that any exchange of information can take place,” you gave a slight smile, aware of the superiors' eyes on you. After all, there was a reason why your team was one of the best, you were the best interrogator they had, getting information without having to break anyone to get it, information out of desperation is what you called information gathered from torture, you boasted for achieving them without needing to do so, the vast majority of which are correct. “Despite everything, I need to know the basics so we can follow the process smoothly, what do you think?”

You notice the subtle shake of the head of the man in front of you. A tic Logan didn't have, but you tried not to show it. A small smirk appeared on the lips of the stranger who leaned his body on the table, hands mere millimeters away from yours.

“You have no idea how famous you are among the Black Pirates,” everyone's posture changed inside the room. This was the first piece of information he had made available since he had been captured, “your fame has several ramifications, some I can already prove as correct,” his eyes traveling all over your face, resting for a longer time on your lips, making you moisten them, making the stranger's eyes meet yours and a shy smile appear on his lips. “However, I cannot say the same about your superiors.”

Movement was noticed throughout the space, but neither you nor Angel seemed to care, eyes fixed on each other. Constantly ignoring how fast your heart was beating in your chest, asking anyone who would listen to stop the blood from flowing to your ears and cheeks.

“We just want to know your position among the Black Pirates and why you were protected.”

Angel sighed, throwing his body forward again, this time your knuckles touched, but none of you seemed affected, at least not on the outside.

“Let's make one thing clear,” he remained motionless, his eyes never leaving yours, the superiors all already restless, “I will only speak to you, alone with you, and if there is any indication of the use of cameras, nothing more it will be shared.”

“And who do you think you are to make these demands?”

Angel's amused and victorious gaze fell on Jinyoung who was livid.

“Within the Black Pirates there is a hierarchical chain just like there is anywhere else,” he sighed, his eyes meeting yours again, the different glow was back, the glow that indicated this wasn’t Logan, “let’s say I am more important than the ones you captured previously and if something happens to me,” the eyes returned to Jinyoung before focusing on one of the cameras near the main door, eyes turning darker, “you will regret it bitterly.”

“Leave us,” your voice was harsh and quick, but still a refined request, especially considering everyone there was of a higher ranking than you. You could hear complaints, many of which were disregarded, but Eden's look in your direction made you propose something to Angel who was still looking at you with great curiosity, “but my team stays.”

Everyone stopped watching Angel's reaction as he looked up at Chan and Hyunjin who stood firm beside you. Your head hurting considerably, your side and back were sore from the position and what Yang had done minutes ago, but you maintained your posture, noticing the cold sweat returning to the base of your forehead, noticing Angel's gaze falling exactly there before nod.

Eden was the first to remove everyone, eyes fixed on you, waiting for any hint that something might happen.

“Can we leave the cameras?” A slight startled reaction crossed Angel's face before landing on Eden, the delay in responding caused your superior to clear his throat, capturing everyone's attention. “Her team will be able to stay, we would like a camera just to monitor this first interaction, then we turn it off, we will remove the sound too.”

“Only if Lee Minho is in charge of that.”

Minho's name coming out so naturally from Angel's lips brought a certain surprise to everyone's eyes, realizing that he was not a mere pawn, but really someone important. Wait until they find out that he is identical to one of the leaders, you thought and cursed yourself shortly afterwards. Your mind trying to imagine why they had put someone like Logan to talk to you, to be the first to talk to you since everything happened.

“Minho, are you listening?” The pressure on your comm point made everyone look at you, the interference letting you know he was listening. “I need you to go to the Security Area, take the girls and Jisung with you.”

“Anything specific in mind?”

“You know what to do, so do your best,” the static within the connection was what told you that part of your team was mobilizing, just like Jisung’s boots being heard behind the half-open door, “satisfied?”

“Your file already told me that you wouldn’t disappoint me, but I’m happy to know that I was right in my analysis.”

A gleam of victory was present in Angel's eyes before he looked past you, clearly expecting only you and your team to be present. When you heard the door slam, with a simple shake of your head, Chan and Hyunjin walked away, one at each end of the room. Shortly after, the door opened again, revealing Jeongin and Changbin.

“Seungmin and Felix are taking care of the hallway.”

Jeongin's voice was quick, his eyes falling on Angel who seemed unaffected, especially by Changbin who not long ago had his arm around his neck, almost suffocating him. When the change in Chan and Angel's expression was noticed by you, you realized you had your own reaction to that memory, trying to ignore Yang's hands on your neck, or the pain that was still in your side.

Ignoring the ringing in your ear and how light your head was, you started to get up, calmly, thoughtfully. If Logan was lying, he wouldn't indicate he knew you. If Angel was well informed, he would do the same, even though you noticed a certain heightened curiosity every time his eyes fell on you.

"Who are you?"

“You can call me whatever you want,” the smirk had returned, even though you noticed the eyes alert for any movement from the four of your team. Barely looking like the stranger he did a while ago. “I'll save you time with playful questions,” he sighed, leaning his back against the back of the chair, his eyes never leaving your silhouette, “I know who you are, I know who your team is, I know that Bang Chan is your second in command, Hwang Hyunjin is your shadow, Seo Changbin is your weapons chief and physical trainer, I know that Yang Jeongin is your third in command, I also know that his brother is a big son of a bitch, now please ask the right questions.”

Everyone held back their laughter at the speech about Jeongin's brother, everyone except you. The events on the stairs returning to your mind. Yang was a big son of a bitch, but the phrase he said before kicking you echoed in your mind, your eyes were far away, even though they were focused on Angel.

“Do you know about my brother?”

You saw everyone else freeze, but not Angel.

Logan would have some kind of reaction as the others.

That definitely wasn't Logan.

“I thought knowing about you implied knowing about your brother.”

“Right,” you said holding back a laugh, Angel just watched you as you walked with your fingers passing over the metal table, “and you don’t have anything to say about him?”

“Ask the question you want; you know as well as I do that patience is not a virtue your superiors possess.”

Your eyes rotated around the room, the eyes of the four fixed on the two of you. You ignored the icy drop that ran down your spine, or whether the bandage you had put on would be able to hold considering everything that had happened, or how your legs felt heavy and ready to give out at any moment. Sweat dripping down your temples.

“I want names,” you said quietly, returning to stand next to Angel, exactly where you were before, being able to see your fingerprint on his temple, where the base hid the birthmark. “I want to know where Cromer is.”

Angel's eyes analyzed you, curious, but analytical. There was doubt on his face, doubt that wasn't present before, you noticed the fidgeting of his hands, how his body turned towards you, but everything was too fast, and you felt your body fall. Fall on top of Angel.

Automatically, Yeosang's hands found your waist, it was then that he realized the reason for your paleness, your cold sweat, your trembling and icy hand, your black clothes helping little for anyone to notice the blood that wet the area around your waist. Your head quickly found the gap in Yeosang's neck, breathing shallow, how long had you been like that?

"Get away!"

He didn't know whose voice it was, but he felt a tug on his shirt at the same moment his body was pulled away from yours. Jeongin held your pale and weak body, the shock on his face indicated two things: confirmation that you and your team did not have the blockers and that your condition was worse than Yeosang imagined. The hand on his shirt remained firm as he felt the exit of a gun stick to his temple. Hyunjin quickly goes around the table checking every part of your body.

"What did you do with her?"

From where the voice was coming from, he knew it was Chan, your second in command, but all he could focus on was how sticky his hand was, how much blood he could feel even with your clothes between his hand and your skin. The blood was fresh, and you had been bleeding long enough.

When Hyunjin finally located the spot, his hands quickly went to open your uniform, which Yeosang realized seemed like something normal for him, judging how close you and your team really were. The black tank top you wore underneath was also soaked in blood, Yeosang felt the movement of the gun on his temple, felt the trembling of Changbin's hand on his shirt, saw the panicked look on Hyunjin and Jeongin's face.

“The stitches opened...”

Stitches? No one on his side knew about you getting stiches.

“What do you mean they opened it, Hyunjin?”

“But she was fine until -” everyone’s eyes fell on Yeosang, he could see the burn in Hyunjin’s eyes, “what did you do to her earlier?”

“Shouldn’t you be more concerned about her not dying from blood loss?”

They were Yeosang's first words, but something seemed to click in Chan who quickly lowered the gun, but none of the others made any move to move.

“Hyunjin and Jeongin take her to the infirmary, we need to know what happened between her leaving here when everyone arrived and until now,” Yeosang saw the two nodding, Hyunjin picking you up while Jeongin made space for you, his eyes meeting with Yongbok who were as worried as the others, “Changbin, I need you to join Minho and the others to retrace her steps,” the hand didn't move from Yeosang's blouse who continued with his head down. “Changbin.”

“It was him Chan, who else -”

“It wasn't him,” Chan's voice surprised them both, Yeosang could see Yongbok's gears working from the door, trying to capture everything he could of what had happened, “if he had known he wouldn't have touched it, if he had touched it on purpose, he would have even more blood and he wouldn’t have reacted like we did.”

“Chan -”

“That’s an order, Bin!” Chan's voice rising was enough for Changbin to let go of Yeosang's shirt, but he didn't move a single muscle. “Take Seungmin with you, I need someone to watch the door until I leave.”

The shaking of their heads was all the indication Yeosang needed to know that Chan could either beat him up or talk to him, he didn't know which was worse. Especially considering he had noticed Yeosang's reaction. Months and months of training thrown away in that second.

“I never -”

“Where do you know each other from?”

Yeosang stopped and watched Chan who sat in the chair previously occupied by you.

"We do not know each other."

“I've known her long enough to know some of her reactions, and you, brought a reaction that I hadn't seen in her for a long time,” the gun was placed on the table, a test, the others had warned about the possibility of this happen, but not anytime soon, “I made a promise to her brother many years ago that I would help take care of her, I've been doing this full time for over two years -”

“Have you been fucking your friend’s sister for over two years too?”

It was a long shot, Yeosang knew, but it was something that Wooyoung, San and Yunho had pointed out in one of the last reviews before the mission started. From the clenching of Chan's jaw, Yeosang knew it was true, a smirk was present, but at the same time, certain irritability.

“And what does this have to do with you?”

“Nothing,” Yeosang said unbothered, smirk present, “I wonder what her brother would say if he knew his friend was fucking his sister -”

Chan took the gun pointing it exactly between Yeosang's eyes who barely moved. Hard eyes, steady breathing, the opposite of Chan. A blur appeared and Yeosang soon noticed the presence of Yongbok taking the gun from Chan.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“That’s called guilt, Yongbok,” the two’s eyes fell on Yeosang who was watching everything with an amused smile, “guilt for feeling attracted to his friend’s little sister who -”

“Shut the fuck up!” Chan got up, throwing the chair away, Yongbok remained silent, observing everything, his eyes mostly on Yeosang, realizing that he knew a lot more than he seemed, that he knew much more personal things that he should never know. “Don’t open your mouth to talk about him, don’t open your mouth to talk about (y/n), don’t -”

“Don’t open your mouth to talk about something that everyone knows isn’t forbidden at Strickland as long as feelings aren’t involved, right?” Yeosang's cynical smile brought a chill down Chan and Yongbok's spine. “I have no intention of saying anything that would harm her, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“What is your obsession with her?”

Yongbok had a voice as deep as Yeosang's, something that until that moment he had completely disregarded. The attention of the two on your team was fixed on Yeosang who just adjusted himself in the chair, hands on the metal table.

“That’s for me to know and for you to find out, right? And obsession is a very strong word, but let's say her name is well known at the top of the hierarchical chain.”

“What do the leaders want with (y/n)?”

Yeosang just allowed the smirk to grow a little, the first bait for your team being thrown. Now they would know how strong your team's relationship was with you. The worry about the cut would be for later, for Yeosang's next date with you, which he couldn't deny that he was eagerly awaiting.

“I hope she’s alone the next time I see her.”

Before anything could be said, Chan and Yongbok exchanged glances before donning the role of the positions they held, Minho or Seungmin probably telling them that the superiors were returning.

Yeosang returned with stoic features, the same position he was in when the superiors had left a few minutes ago, feeling the gaze of the two from your team on him. If everything went well, he would have the moment alone with you soon, being able to finally get to know who you were, away from the photos and videos that Strickland made available, the photos and videos that the Mirrors shared.

You were nothing like the material that had been given to them.

You were the puzzle that Yeosang and the others imagined you to be.

Maybe you really were worth it.

There were several areas on Guardian’s Island.

This was something you knew from a very young age.

Many of them were blocked for children and, even as an adult, it seemed wrong to venture through them, especially Angel's room was protected from everyone.

You had spent the last three days in bed, one of them in the island hospital, Chan and Jeongin dividing themselves between you, maintaining order and watching over Angel. In the last two days, Minho joined the other two, being your main companion, installing in your computer the system he had made to continue monitoring what was happening on Guardian's Island even if the cameras didn't capture it, everything was saved, every frame from each camera.

The only downside was the fact that there was no audio for any of them, but that didn't stop you from looking considerably more at the camera that watched Angel trapped inside the prism, alone in a room surrounded by forbidden artifacts. Your team being the only ones he paid a modicum of attention to, but never long enough, never many words exchanged.

You can see the surprise in Angel's eyes when he saw you arriving with his lunch for the day, how quickly he got up from the floor, his eyes traveling all over your body, focusing on your side where the scar was still healing.

"How are you?"

The low, delicate tone of his voice when he spoke to you sent an electric shock running through your body. For a moment, questioning if you should do what you were thinking.

“Well,” you said quickly, placing the tray of food next to you, making his eyes look confused, making you hold back a laugh, he might not be Logan, but he was just as cute, “what do you think about eating outside of this prism today?"

“Will you join me for lunch?” Your eyes focused on the special lock for opening the prism, ignoring Angel's question completely, especially the smirk that formed on his lips. “Are you just trying to soften me up for an interrogation?”

"How did you find out?" Your voice was serious, but the smile that struggled to appear on your lips was enough confirmation for Angel to leave the prism, but not moving a single step until you authorized it, making you roll your eyes. “I heard that you were giving my team a hard time and I need to move anyway, so I decided to be your babysitter from now on.”

“Well, I’m not going to refuse this situation,” the mocking tone was clear in his words, you fought back a smile, allowing yourself the luxury of just rolling your eyes, ignoring the shy smile Angel gave. You couldn’t fall into the same situation as before, Angel was your goal, your path to reach others, “what happened?”

His voice was closer than you expected it to be, his breathing in your ear, but you pretended indifference, after all, two could play this game and in this game, you were the teacher.

“You know what happened, you were there,” you turned in your own center finding Angel's eyes already on you, noticing a slight raise of his eyebrows noting that he didn't expect that reaction from you, eliciting a smirk from you as he handed you one of the glasses you brought him, he looked at it with his eyebrows raised. “If I wanted to kill you there are better ways than that, in fact, I could have told Chan to pull the trigger on you three days ago.”

“I'm sure he, Changbin and Hyunjin would be more than happy with that,” his fingers touched yours before holding the glass, bringing it yours to your mouth as you walked away towards the food, his eyes always on you. “Shall we share the plate?”

“I already ate, but thanks to your paranoia, I'm going to eat some,” your hand deftly taking a little of each thing with one of the extra spoons you had grabbed before bringing it to your mouth, noticing Angel's eyes not letting go of you at any given time. “Enjoy it before it gets cold.”

Angel exchanged glances with you before focusing on the space around him, knowing it must be the first time he walked freely through the space, your eyes taking in every detail of him, how careful he was to keep the birthmark hidden, watching that much of the makeup had already come off while he was eating, seeming indifferent to your looks, but you could see the smile present on his lips when he caught you watching.

The truth is that the differences existed, but they were subtle enough that it took you a while to notice them. Your hand quickly went to one of the inner pockets of your uniform, subtly handing over a foundation that you had already used on Logan other times, knowing that it would match Angel's skin tone that he pretended not to notice, continuing to eat, but you felt his fingers wrap around yours briefly to hold the bottle.

Time passed in silence, you analyzing Angel, him pretending not to notice, which almost convinced you, if it weren't for the red tips of his ears at times and the ever-present smirks. As soon as he finished eating, you got up, taking the tray and placing it closer to the door, Angel's eyes didn't go unnoticed by you, especially when he noticed that no one was on the other side of the door, or at least, that's what he thought they wanted him to think.

�� "What happened?" His fingers were delicate on your pulse, but you could feel one of his fingers right at the point where he could feel the pulse of the blood and you wished he didn't notice how your heart was racing by that simple, small act. When you remained silent, he tugged your hand lightly, seeking your attention, which he got not long after, but there was no smile of victory. "Who?"

You sighed, pulling your hand lightly, but Angel's hand wrapped around your wrist. He wouldn't let you leave until you responded. You could already hear the annoyed grunts of your team at your comm point. Their complaints when you said you would meet Angel alone came back to you, knowing that at any moment one of them could open the door.

“Your followers,” the only sign of understanding of your words was the slight arching of eyebrows before Angel released his wrist, but never looking away from yours, doing nothing to help you remain calm. He was the best you could get at making others pay for what they did. “They mobbed me and my team last week, they knew the terrain, the hiding places, we didn't,” you sighed, returning to your chair, “I ended up being cornered and they attacked me, they had a fucking sharp machete that managed to cut it off seven centimeters on my left side, deep enough to cause problems, but it didn’t reach any organs.”

There was something different as you told Angel about what had happened, the way his eyes changed, you could see the knuckles on his hand turning white, the clenching of his jaw. So, they didn't know what had happened.

“But that still doesn’t answer my question.”

“You asked what happened and who it was.”

“You were here four days ago,” the firm yet careful voice made you almost hang your head low in shame, you barely knew Angel, he wasn’t Logan, but he seemed to have the same effects on you, “when you left after our first meeting, you were fine, nervous, but fine.”

The memory of what Yang had done no longer had the same effect. If he really wanted something bad to happen to you, he would have acted differently, he didn't know about your injury, no one other than your team and Eden knew.

“Why do you care?”

“Can’t I try to create a conversation?”

Your eyes analyzed Angel's features, momentarily getting lost in some points, especially in the damn smile that continued to be present regardless of what happened, what was said. With a simple sigh, you adjusted yourself in your chair, your hands intertwined. Not even your team knew what had happened, you had yet to tell any of them and Yang was cunning enough to know exactly how to bypass some things that would cause him to be detected as guilty without you needing to point him out. But what could Angel do? Your team would destroy Yang even if he was Jeongin's brother, but Angel... He couldn't do anything.

“Yang.”

The only sign you noticed was the clenching of Angel's jaw.

“Jeongin’s brother?” Your mouth remained closed, but a murmur of agreement came from your throat. “There is nothing to justify it, but... Did he give any justification?”

“You,” you said, laughing weakly, eyes meeting Angel’s angry ones, ignoring how your stomach dropped at seeing him affected by what had happened to you. “You were the reason, because my team is looking out for you, because as soon as you arrived, you were immediately separated from his team and they couldn't have access to you, even though he boasted that he was the one who caught the leader of the Black Pirates.”

“I’m not the leader.”

“I know,” your voice was weak, it was as if you were talking to Logan, but always with some memories of the difference between them, even if your mind refused to process those details entirely, “despite having the same face, you are not Logan.”

“So, you know them.” It wasn't a question, so it didn't need an answer. Angel's smile widened a little, allowing you to see his teeth, one of your favorite smiles was his, even if it wasn't Logan in front of you. “What is your relationship with them?”

You allowed yourself a slight reaction, which didn't go unnoticed by Angel who was waiting for an answer.

“Of course they would do that,” you let out a cynical laugh, your back meeting the back of the chair, “they give off all my information, but they don't have the ability to talk about everything. Unbelievable."

“Then why don’t you tell me?”

“Then it would be very easy, wouldn’t it?”

“And you don’t like anything easy, do you, princess?” Although the nickname had always irritated you, the tone Angel used had the opposite effect on you. Ignoring the party going on in your stomach, you just held his gaze on you, his smile growing slightly after that comment. “I believe I can call you that, right?”

“You know my name, you don’t need a nickname.”

“But what’s the point, princess?” Angel's knee touched yours under the chair, but you didn't move a muscle to get him away from you, ignoring when his hand went under the table, feeling his light fingers on your knee, almost like a caress. “We need a name to call you, don’t you think?”

Quickly your mind started working again, Angel noticed in the same second, but he didn't move a muscle, his fingers moving lazily on your knee.

"Who are they?"

"I do not know what you're talking about."

“They've done a lot of stupid things in this life, but they wouldn't risk so much to bring just you, to allow you to be captured the way you were, not if you were the only one,” your eyes roamed all over Angel's face, which barely seemed to change, as if it didn’t matter, the smile present, the eyes curious and slightly proud, the fingers stopped on your knee, pressing the sides lightly, “they brought you all, didn’t they?”

“I see you found your diary,” your eyes widened slightly, the blood momentarily draining from your face. “Yes, they told us about that too, about your personal diary, about how you came up with the idea for everything to happen.”

You didn't understand what game Angel was trying to play by giving all that information to you. Ignoring the pressure and movement of his fingers on your knee as much as you could, you waited. He knew a lot of things, things you never expected him to know, except about your brother.

“When did they bring you?”

Angel analyzed your face, he knew that he had managed to achieve the goal they needed, to instill in you the fact that both groups knew you better than it seemed, that you, perhaps, would be the ultimate goal of all this, even if you couldn’t understand the reason yet.

“Was your old base in the desert always like that?” His fingers left your leg, his head falling to the side, making you process the information. “We haven't stayed at many of your facilities since we arrived, but that one was considerably the best of the three we stayed at.”

They had visited three bases.

They had been at Strickland for over a year, if not two.

Angel could see the smoke coming out of your ears, and he couldn't help but find it cute the way your expression changed with each piece of information connected.

"Why you?"

“That’s something only they can answer.”

That meant it wasn't temporary.

They had brought Angel and the others to stay.

If you found out why they brought Angel and the others to this reality, you would be closer to understanding everything, closer to catching them.

“Why do you hide your mark? Were they the ones who asked?”

“Logan doesn’t hide his, if that’s your question,” the fact that you continued to stare at him, waiting for him to continue and answer your question, made him sigh imitating your position, your knees still touching under the table, a silent offering of trust, perhaps? “I always hid the mark, ever since school, mainly high school.”

You knew that was the most you could get out of Angel. Logan never needed to hide the mark, you were the first to consider it as something that marked him in a good way, that made him different. That caught his attention at first, making him love the mark more, while Angel seemed embarrassed by it, making you hold yourself back from running your fingers over the pink mark, like you always used to do with Logan.

“Would you be able to tell the difference between us if we were in the same space?”

Yes, you wanted to say, but the truth is, you didn't know.

Maybe Angel and Logan, yes, but the others, you wouldn't know until you were with them.

As your mouth opened to respond, the sound of the door became present, Ryujin quickly entering the space, eyes focused on you.

“We need you in the Homeland Security Room.”

It was the only thing Minho said at your point of communication before you got up from the chair, Angel's eyes never leaving you, not even when Ryujin opened the door, or when the click of the closing didn't happen. His eyes were almost hungry for the answer to the question, you could feel it, but you also couldn't give him that answer, not now, especially not with Ryujin in the shared space.

You were already standing, your knee cold from the lack of contact with Angel's under the table, but he brought the heat back to your body when his hand found your leg. Ryujin couldn't see the way Angel's hand wrapped around the inside of your thigh, just above the knee, no one could see how much that small movement had made your entire body light up.

Your eyes met Angel's again, who was anxiously waiting for some kind of answer, even if it was masked.

“Don’t wait for me for your dinner.”

The smirk quickly appeared, and you felt his fingers pressing your thigh through your clothes, but you tried your best not to make any movement or expression.

“As long as you come tomorrow, I can spend the rest of the day without seeing you.”

One last squeeze on your thigh and his fingers eased the pressure, but never leaving your leg. He wanted you to move away. The power play that started four days ago returned with full force. The realization of the fact quickly takes place in your mind.

Whenever you weren't alone, that would happen.

That was a bait to get you closer to him, a bait that you would happily take and use to your advantage.

Angel didn't know you.

You didn't know him.

That was an offering.

An offering that was a double-edged sword.

Both knew you would get hurt from this, but neither seemed to care.

That should be the first sign.

Ryujin and Chan accompany you to your house, or as you always liked to remember it, your brother's apartment. One of the few spaces that still had some memory of him as he was, not as one of Strickland's prodigies.

“You shouldn't have stayed with him every day,” Chan's voice was worried, you knew, everyone on your team still believed that what had happened was Angel's fault, Yang not going near you nor your team in the last two weeks that you were responsible for supervising Guardian Island. "He did -"

“It wasn't him Chan,” your voice was hard, you were already tired of that conversation. Ryujin was still in the apartment checking if it was safe for you to enter. Ever since Angel was captured, silence had enveloped everything involving the Black Pirates, which didn't calm anyone on your team, especially considering the importance you had gained with Angel. “I hurt myself on the stairs after I left the room, after my mother and the others entered.”

“You want me to believe that was from a fall down the stairs? That you fell down the stairs?”

“No,” you sighed, wanting nothing more than for the subject to go away, “I didn’t fall down the stairs, he surprised me on the stairs -”

"Who?" Not only the voice, but Chan's posture had changed, and you sighed, shaking your head. It didn't matter that you were their leader, or that they were your friends, you knew how to defend yourself, but you knew that when something happened to you, all eleven took it as a personal attack, more than anyone else. “(Y/n), who surprised you on the stairs?”

“The matter has already been closed, Chan,” your voice was hard, just like your eyes that held Chan's. You knew he always demanded more than others, not just him, but Moonbin, Mingyu and Jungkook too. Moonbin for participating in your brother's team, the others for training with your brother just like you trained with Jeongin, Ryujin and Chaeryeong. “He and I can resolve it without involving you.”

"I know but -"

“Clear,” Ryujin noticed that he had interrupted a conversation between you and Chan, lowering her head as if apologizing, but you just sighed heading towards the apartment door. “One of us will stay with you -”

“Absolutely not,” your arms quickly rested on the doorframes of the apartment, not wanting either of them to enter. It wasn't uncommon for you to have people watching your apartment, especially at times when the Black Pirates were occasionally on the streets, but that night you wanted to be alone, mostly alone. “I know you’re worried, so you can check the camera, keep watch outside, I couldn’t care less, but I need to be alone today, at least today, okay?”

Even though it was a question, even though you wanted them to understand because they were your friends, there was a tone of authority and irritability in your speech. Many things happened, many meetings with superiors, many meetings with Angel, a lot of information made available by Angel, information that you needed some time to digest, that you couldn’t share with anyone.

Chan nodded and placed a simple kiss on the top of your head, Ryujin did the same, placing one on your cheek before the two turned their backs until your door was closed and locked. You understand their position. Angel was arrested, the entire nation knew that a person of interest was being interrogated, that someone high up in the Black Pirates had been captured. Everyone expected some kind of retaliation, but it didn't happen, not in the two weeks that followed.

Your forehead quickly met the cold wood of the apartment.

That was one of your main refuges.

Your feet quickly guiding you to your brother's room. The lock on the door being quickly turned and his scent invading your nostrils bringing burning sensations to your eyes that you quickly disregarded as you entered and closed the door behind you, wanting to keep what was left of his scent in that space. Quick fingers searching through the boxes that you had separated that belonged to the two of you in a corner of the room.

Your diary was quickly found among many. It was white, but full of drawings and writing in black, the personalized notebook had been a gift from Lucky. Your fingers gently running between the edges, the familiar but outlandish pages passing through your fingers, until a specific sequence of pages were identified, and you sighed closing the notebook.

Quick feet to leave the room. Never spending more than a few minutes on it when necessary. That was still his space. It would always be his space. Your breath came out completely, almost in relief when the bedroom door closed behind you, the lock being quickly passed again. You needed to calm down to focus on what the diary said. How your idea could be used by them. The reason they caught Angel and the others bringing them into this reality.

You quickly grab some things from the office, taking everything to the living room, placing it on the coffee table, quick hands running through your hair. You needed to calm down to think clearly. Closing the living room curtains, you headed to your bedroom, the shower quickly turning on, cold water against your body, contracting your muscles, waking up your senses.

Your mind went back to your brother. To them. To how right the ten of you felt together.

Ignoring the weight on your chest, you closed the valve, wrapping the towel around your body. The strangest thing was how excited you were to meet Angel the next day. The power games that you had created in the last few days had been minimally interesting and entertaining, a change of scenery if you want to call it that way. Despite everything, you knew you would have to wait for a decision from your superiors. Rumors of retaliation grew every day that Angel was locked on the island, leaving your superiors angry and alert. Angel's lack of cooperation only making this issue worse.

The memory of the conversation from that last day supervising the island coming back to you with full power. You had received clearance for physical training, suggestions for you to train with Angel to assess his physical ability was indicated, but you knew he was capable of holding you back and blocking your attacks, especially from the little hints he had given about how Logan and his group made Angel and the others train every day since they arrived.

Your surprise was when he barely touched you, just dodging or blocking your attacks. You knew that the presence of your team and Eden was the reason for that. Angel could be a lot of things, but the main thing was cautious. He knew when and how to act both towards you alone and when others were present. He could be his usual stoic self when you weren't alone, especially when he wasn't someone on your team, as he could also be one of the most intriguing beings you'd ever met when you were alone.

The more time you spent with him, the more it became clear how different he and Logan were and you beat yourself up for not seeing it sooner. Angel was intriguing in an addictive way; Logan was intriguing in a calm and serene way. Angel wasn't afraid to say or do things to you, while Logan always seemed to keep his distance so you wouldn't feel disrespected. Logan was your past, the reminder of who you were all those years ago. Angel was your present, who you were now, who you needed to be to survive. Logan was flowing, calm water. Angel was deep waters, torrential sea.

What they had that of physical similarities, they had of different in personality, and that made you addicted, the desire to understand it all taking over you every second you thought about it. You sighed realizing that you were once again allowing your emotions to guide your actions. You sighed, running your hands covered by your long-sleeved shirt over your face, your nails running along your scalp before resting on the back of your neck and you looked up at the ceiling of your room.

“You can’t allow yourself to fall into that hole again.”

The words left your mouth, but they never seemed to fully process, probably because you knew you were lying to yourself. You were already digging back the hole you had filled a few years before. Your stomach growled from the lack of food and you forced yourself to get out of bed, the sooner you could understand what the diary had regarding the plan, the sooner you could catch them.

A wisp of wind met your bare feet as you left your room. Face turning towards the living room, the only place that could offer enough wind for it to reach the place you were. The glow of the moon reflecting the movement of the curtains on the kitchen wall. With calm and silent steps, you took the gun you hid under the mattress, a knife in the drawer in the nighstand next to the bed, hiding the knife inside your pants, doing the best you could to disguise its presence.

Your finger on the trigger of the gun while your steps followed calmly towards the room. Due to the way the curtains moved, the living room windows were completely wide open, the cold air taking over the entire living room and kitchen space and you held back a curse. In small, quick movements, you were in the living room, gun pointing at the void that was there, your eyes confused for a moment before turning to the kitchen finding some utensils scattered on the counter.

“Put the gun down, (y/n),” that voice. In a quick movement you turned back to the living room, finding him on the balcony of the apartment, a bowl with various cut fruits in his hand. “I’m not here to hurt you and I know you don’t want to hurt me.”

The strawberry quickly went to his lips, your eyes following every movement before you could stop yourself, but at no point lowering the gun. If he was here, the others could be too. Your eyes quickly scanned the entire space before landing on your open journal, the page being exactly the one you had written your theory on all those years ago, when they were still your friends, when they hadn't yet mastered every second of thought.

"Where are the others?"

“It’s just me,” his steps were calm, restrained, but not because of the gun pointed at him, but because of the look you directed at him. “(y/n), please.”

For a moment you consider the options, but also, this was the first time one of them had been in front of you in five years. Just a few steps away. His vision began to become blurred as your eyes burned, your body trembled, your legs failed. Mars had been faster, managing to catch you before your knee found the ground. His smell was the same. The way he touched you was the same. It didn't seem like it had been five years since he had set foot in that apartment, but there you were, hugging each other in the middle of the living room floor.

"What are you doing here?"

Your voice was weak, almost tearful, but you didn't want to cry, you didn't want to let him see you broken, you didn't want him to know the power he still had over you.

“Visiting my girl, can’t I?”

Despite the smile, that sentence made you see the reality of the situation. A movie of everything that happened played in front of your eyes, forcing Mars away, your back meeting the couch, as he just watched. His eyes confirmed the pain he felt, but also showed that he had already expected it.

“I’m not your girl anymore, or any of yours since you abandoned me,” silence reigned and you finally noticed his clothes. The predominant black, but it wasn't the outfit you saw whenever they appeared in public, the fedora wasn't there, much less the mask or gloves. “Why are you here Mars? Why now?"

“You got hurt,” the scoff that left your lips along with the eye roll only made Mars feel worse, but he wasn't fazed by your reactions, he expected them, especially considering the last two weeks of information you had raised. “I promise you that note wasn't meaningless,” your eyes raised to meet Mars's who was observing your reactions, waiting for an opening, even if minimal, to get closer to you, “I know that I and others cannot ask or deserve forgiveness for everything that has happened in the last few years, but we need you to know that we never completely abandoned you, but it was -”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” your red, watery eyes finally let two tears fall down your heated face. Mars nodded, closing his mouth but risking getting closer to you which you didn't seem averse, but he knew better than to risk too much. “You abandoned me Mars, after my birthday you simply disappeared, but until that point, it was ok, I could even say I understood it,” his eyes found the ground, his foot lightly touching yours that didn't move, eyes fixed on the man in front of him, “but you disappeared completely after what happened to him? After everything?"

Tears that hadn't fallen for years began to cascade down and didn't seem to stop, your throat hurt, and you knew you were almost screaming, the lump in your throat and chest slowly lessening with the tears and screaming but getting considerably worse when you felt it. Mars' arms were wrapping around your warm, trembling body, pulling you into his lap, wanting to protect you from everything he couldn't in those last five years.

It was too late, you both knew, but it still seemed to heal an open wound of years. Your body was heavy, fitted perfectly against Mars' body, as it had been so many years ago, as if this were where you belonged, but you knew it wasn't, this hadn't been where you belonged for a while.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, (y/n), I’m sorry.”

He kept repeating those words to you, knowing that from a moment ony, it was more for him and the others than for you.

“I think my parents used the White Giants,” your voice was low, husky, fragile, causing Mars to stop completely, just the caress of his fingertips against your arm, but you knew he was listening, “I think they finally decided that was for the best.”

“For the best?"

“It’s better than feeling,” you could hear the moment his breath hitched. It wasn't the first time that conversation had happened between you and one of them, one of the first times you couldn't have been more than ten years old, which was when your brother took you to meet Mars and the others for the first time at their dimension. Maybe that was the moment your dam started to crack, “feeling is something so tragic, but so beautiful, I understand both sides a little, but recently I keep asking myself how worth it, it really is.”

“(y/n)…”

You lifted your head, briefly disentangling yourself from Mars' arms before wrapping your arms around his waist, still sitting between his crossed legs, your legs pointing towards the balcony, towards the peaceful night, so different from what was happening in that room, so different with what was happening inside you.

Your arms wrapped around his waist, your head on his chest, his heartbeat was as unstable as yours and that brought a small smile and relief to you, even more so when you felt his arms wrapping around you, his chin resting on the top of your head. It was all too much, everything was too much. Your voice was a whisper, almost a cry for help.

"It hurts Mars, it hurts so much!"

"Have you considered -" he interrupted his train of thought, he knew you well enough to know that you had considered it, yet, here you were, waiting for him to finish his question, if he had the courage to do so and you had the courage to respond. "Have you ever thought about asking them to take the memories away?"

"Would you like me to do that? Would either of you be happy with that?"

“It would be simpler...”

"It's true," you sigh, tightening the hug, feeling the tips of his thumb caress the back of your neck. "It would also take everyone away," you both stopped breathing for a moment until you lifted your head, your confused eyes looked at him while his showed nothing but care and concern, making your mind set that in stone in your brain, even if all you wanted was to keep thinking that they completely abandoned you, "it would take him away, it would also make obvious all the things he did, that we did..., but I wonder if it's worth it."

"Since when do you ask that?"

"Since you and the others caused his death."

The way Mars' body stiffened made you finally have the courage to face him for real, your eyes hard as he had never seen before, because that was exactly what they had done two years ago.

“(y/n) -”

“The news of his death spread across the nation for days Mars, days and weeks seeing my brother's face on big screens across the nation and all I wanted was you and the others with me,” you were no longer crying, there were no more tears to fall. If you were the reason they stayed and were doing what they were doing, they were the reason you became the person you did, “so imagine my surprise when I found out how it all happened, how you were a part of it all.”

Anyone who knew you would know that having you screaming was much better than the position you found yourself in now. The controlled voice, sharp enough to cut, cold and precise words.

"You do not know what -"

“Mars, there are documents and more documents about this,” you forced your body to stand up, the loss of his body heat causing a shock throughout your body that was ignored, “I followed every step of the process so that nothing was lost, to prove to myself that you hadn't killed him,” Mars' eyes were fixed on the place you were before, the tension in his shoulders was still present, the silence was still present, he would wait for you to finish what you had to say. “I thought maybe the results were wrong, that someone had tampered with something, I waited, in the fucking hope that you would show up for his funeral, that you would show up in this fucking apartment, proving to me that the results were wrong.”

“You know well enough that evidences can be manipulated,” his eyes finally lifted to meet yours, they were sore, brittle under your accused ones, but again, not surprised, “you and him have always been and will always be important to us, no matter how much time passes or what happens,” despite the eyes being broken, pouring out feelings, the body was hard, determined. In just a few steps, Mars was just a few centimeters away from you, as you wanted him to be several times, when he still had your whole heart, sharing it with the other seven who completely fucked up your life. “I'm sorry I was part of the process that made you who you are today.”

“Don't be sorry,” your voice was hard, “I don't regret for a minute who I am today,” truth spilled over your lips.

It was true that this was not the path you would choose to walk, but you had been at peace with that for long enough. You were proud of everything you had achieved. You were proud of the reflection you saw in the mirror. That might not have been the path you and your brother wanted when you were younger, but you learned to embrace it, learned that something good could still come from that path, accepted that you would nor could ever leave.

“You deserve more, you deserve something better, someone better.”

With each word, Mars's voice dropped, the end almost inaudible to you, just a mumble that you preferred not to focus on too much. The older man risked approaching one last time, placing a lingering kiss on the top of your forehead and you held back the tears that risked falling in that simple act. His arms wrapped around you one last time, you allowed yourself to wrap around Mars' waist one last time, inhaling his scent, even though you knew you would quickly forget what it felt like.

Your eyes closed trying to absorb that last moment, because despite the anger, Mars and the others helped you to be who you were today, even if the part they were responsible for was the most hated and most loved part of yourself. You saw in Mars' eyes the glimpse of ignorance, of disappointment, you knew that your brother would also look at you like that, but he would understand, but now, thanks to them, you wouldn't even have that. Whether they hated what they had helped create or not, you still didn't know, but from that moment on, you didn't care.

The heat from Mars' body was the first thing that went away, then his presence, and lastly, the smell that surrounded his presence, even though you knew it would be marked throughout your apartment for the rest of the night. Your eyes opened noticing how empty the space seemed. Fighting the burning in your eyes, your steps were quick to open all the windows in the house, except the one in your brother's room. The idea of someone from your team entering the apartment the next day and noticing the smell of Mars throughout the house distressed you, as this would bring questions, surveillance, people searching your apartment – your brother's apartment – turning it upside down, looking for some sign of what had happened, of who was in the apartment.

As soon as you sat on the sofa, the bowl of fruit that Mars had cut – long forgotten on the coffee table – reminded you that the discomfort in your stomach went beyond what had happened. Piece by piece, you picked up the fruit, your stomach quickly thanking you for the food. Your eyes then stopped on your diary. Mars' handwriting is quickly present along with some marks and writing, emphasizing some parts more than others.

Some asterisks at specific points next to your writing, such as:

* multiple dimensions, multiple realities.

* can two identical people from different realities exist in a single one that is not theirs?

Besides that, Mars handwriting shout out to you:

Schrödinger's cat.

Differences matter.

Nothing really is what it seems until you really pay attention.

Just because a dimension says A or Z doesn't mean A or Z shouldn't be questioned, there are other letters in between that are just as important, if not more so.

Your hands went up to your face, eyes closing in a silent plea for that puzzle to finally make sense in your mind. Despite everything, the notes left by Mars confirmed part of your theory:

01. Angel and the others are here to stay, but how they will be used is still unclear.

02. Angel and the others had been chosen, probably because they fixed some flaw that might exist in Mars and the others' plan.

03. There was something you weren't seeing, that they wanted you to see.

04. That wouldn't be the last time you saw any of them.

“Urgent Transmission, c’mon all of you!”

Left Eye's voice was loud in the middle of the space everyone was in. Boxes and more boxes were scattered around, things thrown into separate corners, but everyone ran to where Left Eye was looking at the old television that he had gotten when Mars and the others reported what they would do to free Yeosang from Guardian's Island.

The newspaper image was quickly replaced by the footage that Nightingale had carefully separated and sent to free channels and, as imagined, the repercussion forced the official channel to release the video and an official statement, bringing smiles to all the boys.

Wooyoung quickly ruffled Yeosang's hair when his friend's image inside the prism appeared. The recording was careful not to show Yeosang's face, which was not interesting for either the Black Pirates or the government. The image was obviously cropped, not showing everything that was in the place where Yeosang stayed, but that wasn't the most important or exciting part, but rather the scene in which one of the leaders of the Black Pirates, who in this case was Mars – but who also I wouldn’t show my face –, would appear.

Yeosang knew he would be rescued, but he didn't lie when his friends asked if he was already bored and begging to be rescued, as that was the last thing he was. The truth is that he expected your presence every day, asking and thanking you when you showed up more than once a day for three hours.

Yeosang, like Hongjoong and Seonghwa, knew that you had captured the interest of all eight of them, but only Yeosang knew that this was just the beginning, only Yeosang knew how mesmerizing you were, only Yeosang could understand why you were important, because only he had spent time with you.

The prism had been opened and Yeosang left his place of protection without much concern. Mars removed the Cromer from his coat, handing it to Yeosang to hold, before it spun around and the sand began to fall, opening the portal that would take them to the hiding place they were in at that moment.

A few seconds after they both disappeared from the screen, several security guards were seen entering the place and looking for Yeosang without success, until the recording ended. That had happened three days after you and your team had been dismissed from the island's watch, three days after Mars had visited your apartment.

Despite the general celebration of the victory of having demonstrated that to the entire nation, everyone remained silent when they found your face among those of the officers in the speech. That only indicated that perhaps the plan had worked out better than expected, Mars and Uno exchanging proud looks with Yeosang who couldn't contain the smile that danced on his lips, much less disregard how his heart seemed to jump when he saw your face in the television, considering that it had been four days since he had last seen you, exactly the day that footage had been taken.

Everyone held their breath as the speech began, Yeosang's friends observing his reaction, how their eyes seemed glued to the television, to your image specifically.

“An open mouth attracts flies.”

Wooyoung playfully pushes Yeosang's chin up which only pushes his friend's hand away.

“We’ll see when you meet her,” Yeosang said without fear, already being able to imagine the reaction of his oldest friend in that circle. The amused and understanding eyes of the Mirrors fell on him, knowing that he finally understood a little of the reasons for everything, which went beyond overthrowing the Strickland government. “Do you think they put her as one of the people on the team?”

“With that,” everyone stopped to observe when they noticed that one of the officers turned to you who met his gaze nodding and taking a step forward, Hyunjin could be seen behind you, “I would like to introduce the person who will be part of the Black Pirates, Search and Capture Team.”

Everyone was silent, waiting to hear how exactly you would be part of the team.

“Thank you Marshal, it is a great pleasure to be recognized and considered for this position despite my young age,” Yeosang could already read your features, he already knew when you were playing a role, when you said things just to please your superiors, of course not completely, but he had caught some of your tics, noticing how the 'young age' issue was of your own addition, a way of needling others, noticing the movement of your eyes towards someone in the audience, making Yeosang note to ask about who would be there later. “My team and I are more than happy to accept this job, we will strive to bring the members of the Black Pirate and their leaders to justice for the way they destroy our country, I hope to deserve the position I was offered, thank you all.”

Again, your eyes shifted to a point in the audience, a movement that this time was also noticed by the others, seeing Mars exchange glances with Logan and Shinwoo who quickly moved away, a movement that was not ignored by the others in ATEEZ who quickly approached Yeosang expecting something to be said.

“She looked at someone in the audience more than once,” before any of his friends could say anything, Yeosang shook his head with an amused smile, “she wouldn't risk doing something like that, almost inconsequential, without a reason.”

“We have vision,” the image wasn’t the best, but everyone could see the entire first five rows, “which direction did she look?”

Shinwoo asked, already messing with the image, trying to improve the quality.

“Her left, our right.”

“Probably third row closest to center.”

Uno and Howl responded quickly while Iyaah went back to the image to confirm, but Shinwoo already works on the image, but it didn't take much for Yeosang to know who it was. Recognizing his face anywhere.

“Yang,” everyone stopped to watch Yeosang who stared at the image with burning eyes, memory of what he had done to you returning to him, “she was looking at him.”

Mars waited for the confirmation that came after Iyaah got the image, Lucky and Wooyeon taking care of the structure, guiding which possible chairs would be, until one of the three chairs belonged to Yang, Jeongin's older brother. Yeosang ignored the curious looks of his friends, focusing on the curious ones of the Mirrors.

“You already know she was hurt, right?”

“In one of the movements we created before you were ‘captured’, yes.”

Iyaah responded with a curious look, imitated by the others, except for Mars who continued to stare at you through the image on the television.

“The day I was captured, it was Yang and his team who made the arrest,” Yeosang began, the memory of the day coming back with full force. He already didn't have good feelings for the officer since the video in which you killed one of the Black Pirates members, but the feelings got worse that day. “(y/n) and her team were scheduled to take care of the island -”

“Exactly why we did all that when we did,” Lucky said, still trying to follow Yeosang's reasoning who nodded with a slight smile, “did he do something to you?”

“Nothing more than expected,” everyone knew what that meant, but they would ignore it until they knew what information Yeosang had about your relationship with Yang and your injury. “The problem is that her team was responsible for me the moment I entered the island complex, and he didn’t like it, so he decided to have it out with her.”

"Mother fucker..."

All the Mirrors murmured irritably, the friends and Yeosang noticing how everyone's hands clenched into fists, quickly noticing the tension that remained in the air.

“He went to talk to her about the situation and punched her in the side that opened her stitches,” Yeosang now heard his own friends murmuring their disgust towards Yang, “she had to spend three days of complete rest, there was a lot of internal bleeding...”

Yeosang's voice trailed off as he noticed the suggestive looks the Mirrors exchanged, knowing what they were thinking and supporting considerably, having thought of some ways to make Yang pay for the two weeks he spent on the island under your care.

“Do any of you want to meet her?”

Mars' question hung in the air, his eyes not meeting any of the ATEEZ boys, but noticing the exchange of looks between them.

“Seonghwa should be next,” all eyes fell on Yeosang who didn’t seem to be affected, “she knows you all well enough to know that you’re the one on the recording,” nodding at Mars who once again looked down before looking up, finding your image on the stage, “I think that, out of all of us, Seonghwa will be one of the most capable of achieving the objective of this phase of the plan.”

“Both Yunho and Jongho would also be good for the next stage, but I agree,” Lucky exchanged glances with Mars who sighed, seeming to ponder more than the others about using Seonghwa for the next stage, “unless there is a reason why he shouldn’t be next.”

Mars seemed to think for a moment, pondering the presence of each as the main one in the second part of the plan. His eyes resting one last time on the image of you on the television.

“Do you want to be next?” Seonghwa nodded, Mars let out a regretful sigh before nodding. “You have two weeks, tomorrow you and I sit down to align some things.”

Seonghwa adjusted his posture, nodding, Yeosang's smile did not go unnoticed by the Mirrors, some even smiling equally excited, except Mars who seemed considerably worried about the decision, but followed through with it regardless.

“Yeosang,” all eyes fell on Wooyeon who was smiling amusedly, “it would be good for you to tell Seonghwa about what she’s like, this second introduction won’t be as easy as yours was.”

01: angel.

heart string of gold || OT8! ateez || lore au

They had abandoned you, all nine people you cared about most had completely abandoned you. In the end, you were just like your parents and superiors said you would be if you continued to allow feelings to be felt. You then became Strickland's weapon and the Black Pirates, like their leaders, were your ultimate target.

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