It hurt looking at the front door and seeing it as an enemy. It had always been welcoming. But now, as Saeran stood in front of his house, every fiber in his being dreaded the look of the wooden door. MC, behind him, was breathing fast. Saeran put on a brave face and pushed the door open, stepping inside.

The two had rushed to the house as soon as they'd hear V's call, panicking. MC's mind was still fresh with the shock of his past- the poor kid couldn't catch a break. But the whole way there, all Saeran could think was Saeyoung. SaeyoungSaeyoungSaeyoung. Please be okay.

V was not a merciful man. Especially in the past year, his soul had grown darker and more corrupt. Saeran couldn't help but fear for his brother's life. V wasn't messing around. Not now.

Inside the house, it was dark. They entered through the living room, crossed into the kitchen, moving slowly and silently, and then to the left, where the basement door was open. Saeran steeled himself, pausing only to reach behind him and wrap his fingers around MC's small wrist. He carried a taser in his belt buckle- who knew what would aggravate V, so he kept it small.

Under his feet, the stairs creaked, and Saeran could see the glow of his monitors in the dark room. He and MC descended, finding themselves in the room Saeran had spent so many hours, checking stats on the game, fixing bugs, even checking in on players.

But now, the sunny smiles of the players were gone and the basement felt claustrophobic. V was standing, back turned, hands clasped behind his back. Saeran noticed Rika sitting in his office chair, spinning slowly and aimlessly. She wouldn't meet his gaze- her eyes looked blank.

"Where's Saeyoung," he growled, pushing MC behind him.

V didn't turn. He didn't speak for a few moments, then began in a low voice. "What would you say... If I told you I'm building a paradise."

Saeran glanced back at MC, exchanging worried glances. They didn't answer.

V tilted his head to the side, light from the computers shining through his teal hair. "It wasn't rhetorical, Mr. Choi. What would you think, what would you do if I told you I was creating a place where everyone could be happy. Where no one would die because of Regressive Floral Asphyxiation, no one would suffer from heartbreak or loss... What would you say?"

"I'd say you were crazy," Saeran suggested.

"Who said I'm not?" V snapped back quickly. He turned to look at Rika. Her eyes were glassy and they wandered over the floor, never lingering on a specific spot. Saeran felt a cold shiver go down his spine when she passed over his shoes. MC, behind him, pressed closer to Saeran's back. His breath was warm.

"Where's Saeyoung?" Saeran repeated, stepping forward.

V finally turned and Saeran and MC recoiled, shocked. Through the dim light of the computers, Saeran could clearly see the dark bruises on the sides of V's face. The dark marks trailed down to his neck, then down further. V's shirt was unbuttoned and Saeran grimaced, realizing what the bruises were. Handprints.

Deep, discolored fingers splayed across V's chest and across his jaw, perfectly outlined. V stared over Saeran's shoulder and made eye contact with MC, pressing a hand self-consciously to his jaw. MC thought he knew what had happened, but that was impossible. How could he have...?

"I guess we know that there are different kinds of love out there," V said sourly. "And you've left your love on my skin."

Saeran lunged forward, seething. "He doesn't love you!" He yelled, throwing himself at V. But the man simply pulled a gun out of his waistband behind him and aimed it to his left. Saeran froze, spinning to look at the target. Hidden in the shadows, blindfolded and gagged, stood Saeyoung.

"No," Saeran breathed, looking frantically between his twin and V.

"You take another step towards me and I'll shoot," V responded calmly. Backing up, Saeran couldn't take his eyes off his brother. He'd been so caught up in V and Rika that he hadn't noticed Saeyoung in the corner, cowering, listening to every word spoken, shrouded in darkness.

"What do you want?" Saeran pleaded. MC pulled him back by his arm.

V laughed humorlessly. "If I'm being honest, full rights to the company."

Saeran frowned, "Why?"

"I told you; I'm creating a paradise. I need people to come."

Saeran spoke through clenched teeth, "You want to make a cult out of our customers?"

"It's not a cult, idiot," V snapped, his hand which held the gun wobbling. "It's paradise. The real version of Mystic Messenger, where everyone can be happy."

"By enslaving innocent players?" Saeran demanded.

"They're not slaves! They're devoted to a higher cause!"

"A higher cause?! What kind of bullshit is that, V? You want to make them follow you and work for you and you're gonna promise them happiness? Do you hear yourself?"

V sniffed. "You don't see my vision yet, Saeran. But you will."

"Who says I'm gonna go along with this?"

V smiled darkly, looking down at Saeran. His hair was greasy. "Because if you don't, I'll kill your brother, and then MC, and then I'll make you work for me anyways."

"Like hell you will," Saeran sneered, pulling out his taser. It was measly, but it was enough to show V that he wasn't completely defenseless.

"Oh, look at you, big man. Wow, am I scared." V's annoying sarcasm didn't fit him well. He turned the gun off Saeyoung and instead turned it to the other brother. "Or maybe I should kill all of you."

MC glanced at Rika, looking for any sign of awareness, any call for help. She was unresponsive, braiding and unbraiding a piece of her hair. Pushing past Saeran, MC stepped forward towards V, putting on his sweetest, smallest smile and widening his eyes. For this to work, he needed to be the least intimidating person in the room, even safer than Rika.

V trained his gun on MC, still keeping his gaze on Saeran, though. MC kept his hands up in surrender as he walked forward, and was secretly satisfied when V flinched back, looking at MC's hands with disdain. "Don't touch me," he said roughly, but MC still approached.

"Shhh," he said softly, light fingers reaching out to lay over V's shirt. V flinched and smacked his hands away, pressing the barrel of the gun to MC's forehead. He looked confused, though.

The metal was cold against his face, but MC stood unmoving, hands against V's chest, staring up into his dark eyes.

"V... don't hurt me," he murmured, regarding V through his thick lashes.

V shivered, eyes set. "What do you think you're doing?" He asked, pressing the gun harder against MC's head.

"Saeran told me everything. How I loved him and how he didn't love me back and that's why I don't remember anything," MC spoke softly, hands firm against V's chest. Their eyes were locked.

"But Saeran didn't love me back. Ever. Or else I wouldn't have had to have surgery, right?"

V was frowning. He glanced at Saeran and then back to MC.

"But you liked me, right?" MC asked. He purposely hadn't blinked in a while, and so now the tears came easily.

"You're pathetic," V mused, as if commenting on the weather or someone's shirt.

"I know," MC murmured. He reached up onto his toes, reaching for V. "But I'll stay with you."

He took one hand off of V's chest and grasped the gun lightly, pushing it down, away from his forehead and towards the floor. V let him, mesmerized with MC's hazelnut eyes.

"I never loved you. The woman I loved doesn't even remember my name. And I never loved Jumin the way I was supposed to. And now he's dead. And it's my fault," V whispered to MC, eyes full of sadness.

"I know," MC repeated, tears streaming down his face as he looked up at V. And then he closed his eyes and kissed him.

V didn't respond for a second, and in that span of time, MC feared that everything he'd hastily planned would go to waste, but then he responded, and a wave of relief flooded through his body.

Sliding his hands up to V's shoulders, MC leaned into him, pressing their chests together. V's lips were hungry and nothing like they'd been last night. This time, V was angry and hurt and delusional. And still, MC kissed him just as hard, letting himself forget it was V and just thinking about V. He winced in pain when V caught his lip between his teeth and bit loosely, but ignored it. He needed to do this.

MC opened his eyes and angled his head to the right, making eye contact with Saeran as he knelt by Saeyoung, untying his gag and blindfold. Good, he caught on. Saeran nodded in thanks, but looked very uncomfortable as he watched V cradle MC in his arms as he kissed down his neck. It was believable, Saeran would give MC that much.

He finished untying his brother, hugging him quickly, and then led him back towards the basement stairs, pushing him up. Saeyoung stumbled, eyes glued to MC and V, and his foot hit the bottom step with a thud. V snapped to attention, eyes pinning Saeran and Saeyoung in place like a rattlesnake about to strike.

"I don't like being lied to," he hissed dangerously, and Saeran watched with terror as V lifted the gun from his side. There was a loud bang, and MC fell to the floor.

"No!" Saeran roared, but Saeyoung held him back, because now the gun was trained on them.

It was probably a miracle that a gunshot was the thing that got Rika to come out of her daze.

She stood abruptly, alert but just barely, looking at V. "Mr. Sun, I don't like loud noises in my house!" She said sternly. "Put those firecrackers away right this instant!" Her hands on her hips, long yellow hair falling to her waist, she looked ghostly and beautiful.

"Rika?" V asked quietly, shaking. His attention had left the three other boys in the room.

"I said, put those firecrackers away! It's not the Fourth of July!" She held out her hand expectantly.

V, as if in a trance, placed the gun in her hand, wide-eyed and twitching. "My love-" he started, then fell to the floor, sobbing.

...

MC stood at the top of the hill, looking out over the city as the wind whistled gently around him. The grass beneath his converse was scattered with the leaves of fall, and the light coolness in the air made him glad he'd worn his jacket.

Snuggling his face down into the turtleneck of his sweater, he allowed himself to think back to one month ago, when everything had gone to shit for that one fateful week.

V had gone mute after they'd called the police, allowing himself to be brought into the station. Thanks to Jumin's "V Fund", something he'd been saving for anything V would ever need, and with Jaehee's help, they were able to cover up the story and, instead of prison, send Rika and V to an estate where they'd be cared for with other patients.

Jaehee had been very selective, looking over every institution. V had made some bad decisions, but it was due to mental illness and not his character. And his character was what Jumin had loved, had wanted the best for, had died for, and Jaehee was insistent that V and Rika were taken care of appropriately.

They'd left the next week, escorted by Yoosung and Jaehee. Apparently, it had hit Yoosung hard, seeing his cousin like that, but he'd agreed that it was the best for Rika.

V had shot MC right above his knee, promptly severing tendons and nerves and resulting in an amputation. MC had been in so much pain, he'd been pretty indifferent, he just wanted it to stop hurting, but the loss hit him once he was sober.

Luckily, and to MC's surprise, he had a small fund from Jumin as well, and was able to get a prosthetic a few weeks after. He went to physical therapy every day, and it was odd, hobbling around, but he considered himself lucky. It could have been much worse.

Saeran had stayed by his side through the worst of it, helping him calm his breathing and drying his tears when the pain was too much. He mostly stayed quiet and MC knew that Saeran blamed it on himself, MC thought it was his own fault as well. It had been a messy situation with no clean exit, and, in MC's opinion, his sacrifice had been the solution with the least amount of consequences. He was just glad that the whole mess was over with.

In the countless hours he spent at the hospital, laying in bed, bored out of his mind, he was able to do some of his class work, which was a blessing. His physical therapist and doctor agreed that he'd be allowed to go back to classes as soon as he was comfortably walking again.

MC looked down at his leg, examining the transition of his thigh to the plastic of his new lower leg under his shorts. It was a bit chilly to be wearing khakis, but it was hard to put jeans on over his leg and sometimes he was just too lazy to try.

Jaehee and Zen has also visited MC as often as they could while he was in the hospital, and he hadn't realized how close he was with them until he realized how much he enjoyed their company while he laid in the uncomfortable bed. Zen brought him cheap chocolate and Jaehee made him coffee, and they talked about stupid gossip and funny stories and showed him pictures of the group when they were in high school.

Now that everything was out in the open, new conversations had opened up, more personal topics that Jaehee and Zen never pushed too hard but asked anyways. Zen confided in MC that he'd always thought that Saeran was a hottie, and Jaehee showed him the RFA binder that Jumin had written before he died.

MC had poured over the writing, surprised at how many times he was mentioned. Jumin had explained how MC's flowers were yellow roses because of his friendship with Saeran, how his own were pink peonies because they meant compassion- how fitting that was as he would do anything for V.

The hill he stood on was out the back of the hospital, and it rose to look over the small city they lived in. MC usually cate out after physical therapy to relax and have a moment to himself.

Today, the world seemed to have different plans for him, though. He heard the rustle of leaves behind him and turned, feeling defensive. He'd been skittish since the incident, but he relaxed when he recognized the figure.

Saeyoung's black and yellow hoodie was a dead giveaway. In the sun, he was paler still, but his hair looked clean and bright and his eyes were alive- the first they'd been in a year.

He hadn't spoken to the twin much, just occasional "hello"'s. Saeran had said that Saeyoung had been busy with the app since Saeran had been at the hospital, but that he'd been coming out of his shell more and more. Saeran seemed proud when he talked about his brother and it made MC happy to hear it in his voice.

"Hey, Saeyoung," MC greeted as the redhead came up to stand next to him, hands shoved in his pockets as usual.

"Hi, MC." His hair was messy in the wind. He pushed up his glasses and cleared his throat, looking anywhere but at MC.

"What brings you here? I haven't seen you in a while."

"I had to have a check-up and I noticed you out here..." He trailed off, and MC wasn't sure if he believed him. The Choi's were incredibly tech savvy- for all he knew, Saeyoung could have tracked his phone.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" MC asked absently, shuffling closer to his friend as they looked over the bluff.

Saeyoung nodded. He looked nervous. "I just wanted to say-" he blurted loudly, then stopped. "I never really thanked you for what you did. I'm sure that... that bullet was meant for me." Saeyoung's eyes slid to MC's prosthetic.

"I did what I had to. I'm not sure what I'd do if you'd died," MC replied honestly.

"Why?"

"Because you're my friend and I care about you." Something about that answer seemed to make Saeyoung deflate.

"Just... just that, huh?" He muttered. MC looked at Saeyoung strangely.

"What?" he asked, confused.

Saeyoung sighed, nose and cheeks turning pink from the cold. "I know... you've had a pretty rough history with... relationships. But I just wanted to tell you..." he broke off and brought himself to look at MC in the eyes. His golden optics were bright in the sun.

"The thing is, ever since Saeran brought you over, I've liked you."

MC stood, shocked, eyes wide as Saeyoung looked at him with intensity, scanning over his face for any sort of reaction.

"You..." MC started to say, and then, to his own surprise, he blushed. Saeyoung looked pained at the lack of response.

MC walked closer to the boy, closing the distance between them. Pink shone on Saeyoung's cheeks. It was adorable.

"I'm not good at this, and it might take me some time to be able to emotional recover enough to try out a relationship, but..."

MC slid his hand down the sleeve of Saeyoung's hoodie and met his hand in the warm pocket, intertwining their fingers. Saeyoung looked from MC to his pocket and then back to MC, confused and happy at the same time.

"We'll make it through this."

We always do.