I can't tear my eyes off him. Not like I would anyway, because only an idiot would take their eyes off an assassin any more dangerous than Zelo. 

"What are you doing, Mir? Do you know who you have?" He blinks at me, the picture of perfect calm. 

"I am well aware who is the king. And I am well aware of his chosen other." I feel a chill, but I meet his eyes all the same, slipping on the mask that everyone sees. 

"Then you are well aware of the consequences for kidnapping the royal family." 

"Of course. But those consequences only happen if you get caught. And, hyung, do you think that I'll be caught?" 

No. No. Of course he won't. Of course a trained assassin won't get caught. It's just another murder or two. It's just another day for him, like it would be for me. 

"What do you want." 

He chuckles slightly at my flat question. "That remains to be seen. But I'll give you a hint: It's not truly what I want, hyung. It's what the true ruler wants."

"And who is the true ruler?" He smirks at the amount of sarcasm in my question. 

"It's a secret." 

"Oh? You wanna tell me?" 

"No, thank you. But he'll be a lot better king that you or Jonghyun, hyung." I blinked at him, registering his mocking words, me something clicked into place.

"You killed him," I say, and it comes out only as a whisper. 

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific, hyung." A crooked smiles makes its way to his young face, and I snarl in response. 

"The king. You killed the king." 

"In fact I did. Kings comes in bunches, you know. You're not all that common, really. You may think yourself the only one, hyung, but you're actually not." 

I can't see any emotion but cold amusement. And I think I might see impatience. Or I could just be imagining it. "The king. You were there. You were there." And now I can see it: Him, sneaking around the palace. Me so helpfully drawing all the guards, so the job would be easily. Ghosting off the grounds. Disappearing without a word, without a whisper.

The perfect kill. 

He fixed his sharp eyes on me, and when he spoke, it was lilting and light but I could sense the cold pleasure he's taking from stunning me. "You underestimated me, hyung." 

I stare back, all the while cursing my stupidity. The dead are never truly dead until they die in front of you. I should have guessed. I should have at least suspected. But here I am, floundering in the surf, swept off my feet, and Jonghyun may be already dead. And it will be no ones fault but mine and his.

When I speak, it's quiet, but I try to hide my weakness. I need to pull myself together, I need to buy myself time. He's the enemy, now. No matter what was before, the important time is now. "What happened to you, Mir? What did they do to you?" 

His eyes turn black, and he shifts slightly. "You were relieved. You were relieved when you thought I was dead." His voice shivers slightly, and I'm reminded, once again, of the Mir I used to know. And it's not a question, and it's not false. I was. I was relieved that he was finally safe, safe from them, but he doesn't see that. He sees what he has been trained to see, and he sees my betrayal.

"I was relieved that you couldn't be hurt anymore," I say, soft, and take a step forward. I let my hand fall from my hilt, and it swings in empty air. He's Mir.

He's still Mir.

Mir swallowes. "Hyung, you wanted me to die." He looks so vulnerable. He looks so alone, and so young, and I can't help but think it's my fault, for giving up on him so quickly, so desperate I was for him to stop suffering, when, really, I believe his suffering had only began.

"I wanted you to live," three years ago Mir is in front of me, and I can't stop myself from caring. "And what you were doing, Mir, that wasn't living. It wasn't."

He looks up at me, and I start when I see tears welling in his eyes, his eyes that were so hard and unforgiving seconds ago now soft and so much like I remembered them, when he stumbled into the dorms past midnight, lip split and trickling with blood, eyes blackened. 

"I was fighting, hyung," I can barely hear his whisper. "I wanted so bad to make it to the end, hyung. But I wasn't strong enough. I was too weak." 

"Mir..." I abandon all caution and step up to him, wrapping my arms around the boy that I thought had died a horrible death so long ago. "You're strong in a way that I'll never be able to be." 

He stood still, and then he wrapped one around me. A chill crept into my throat. Mir brought his head close to mine, and tilted his so that his lips were next to my ear. "I've never thought you so smart, hyung." And then his muscles stiffened, my panic jumped, but it was too late, too late. 

Too late, for Mir had already found a knife, and plunged it into my exposed side. As he did, he whispered again in my ear, and the words rang in my ears as pain exploded like stars in front of my eyes:

"You were never able to let go."