Luhan leans back in his seat, eyes closing to block out the light produced by the parking garage. Sweat has gathered at his brow and his chest heaves up and down as he breathes in rapid uncounted intervals. He’s home now, parked mere meters from the building’s entrance. Only lingering in the car to calm down. The drive from District Three back to Two had seemed longer than usual despite the lack of any traffic. At one point during his drive home, he’d pulled over to the side of the road, dry heaving as his gut twisted in nausea. It was by luck that he’d managed to get home without driving into a building.

He reaches up, his arm no longer shaking, and wipes the cold sweat away.

****

Minseok is asleep on the couch when he enters the apartment, head rested in the palm of his hand and work clothes still on. Despite the strong whirlpool of emotions within him, he feels his lips twitch at the sight, calmed just a bit at the thought of the secretary waiting for him. Minseok doesn’t look comfortable, but Luhan decides against waking him just yet and instead heads to his bedroom.

The diary is where it always is, stuck between a science textbook and an old leather covered book Luhan believes contains the laws of some dead religion. He’d have to destroy both books soon, they were even more of a danger to have now. He pulls the picture out of the pocket in his suit, looking over it once more.

There’s a crease down his father’s face, but it doesn’t dull the grin he has surrounded by friends. The three of them were happy then, proud of their accomplishments. Satisfied at how they’d fought and survived to see the start of a new world and the peace and happiness promised to them. Luhan wonders how long it took for the smiles to disappear, and for them to figure out that the perfect nation they’d built was nothing like what they hoped. How long after did it take for them to rebel?

Minseok is still asleep when Luhan exits his bedroom. Luhan takes a seat beside him, a small smile lighting up his face as he watches the secretary. The television is on but muted and Luhan’s face is on the screen, smug and glaring in challenge.

“Minseok,” he calls out, gently shaking the arm that isn’t supporting the male’s head. “Minseok, wake up. You’ll get a cramp sleeping like that,” Luhan whispers, leaning closer and watching Minseok’s face for any movement. Minseok’s head slips from his hand, and Luhan replaces it with his own to prevent him hitting against the sofa arm. The movement jolts Minseok awake and Luhan finds himself biting down on his bottom lip to stifle his laughter.

“You’re back,” Minseok mutters, voice still heavy with sleep. He sits up, yawning softly and leans back against the chair.

“I am,” Luhan replies. He leans his head against the secretary's shoulder, wrapping arms around his waist. “Were you waiting for me?”

Minseok’s hand is in his hair, fingers running through the strands in comfort. It’s a stark contrast to how they were in the morning and even a few days before. “I was,” he admits quietly, “I wanted to make sure you were okay. Are you?”

Luhan hesitates, burrowing himself closer to Minseok as he contemplates his response. He’s not sure how to bring up all that he’s learned or if he wants to with Minseok’s inevitable departure looming over them. It was daunting when remembering Minseok’s current behavior. Those things felt as if it would change their dynamic again and he didn’t need that “I’m not okay,” he replies, the tension bleeding from him as he relaxes further into Minseok. “Today’s been hell.”

Minseok’s hand stops its , and Luhan bites back a groan of frustration. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Yes,” Luhan states, “but, I don’t think I should.”

“Okay,” Minseok says, “then just remember that it’s over.”

“Yeah,” Luhan agrees. He pulls out of Minseok’s embrace and instead holds his hands. He feels weird changing the subject so quickly, especially with how he’s still troubled by what Yixing has revealed to him, but something tells him that he needs to do it now. Minseok is calmer now and much more willing to hear him out. “I have two requests.”

Minseok tenses, the guarded look returning to him as he searches Luhan’s face in confusion. It takes Luhan by surprise and he can’t stop himself from wondering if the change in demeanor is from Minseok remembering his desperate plea earlier or if it’s another seemingly permanent change that he’ll have to get used to.

“What are they,” Minseok asks him, his tone is calm despite how tense he’s currently become.

Luhan looks down to their interlaced fingers, trying to figure out how to best phrase his request to keep Minseok from closing himself off even further. “I want us to try to go back to how things were before I found out about you, for the rest of the time we have together,” he answers. “I know you don’t trust me much –”

“I do,” Minseok says, cutting Luhan off.

“No, you don’t,” Luhan states, “not as much as you used to.” Minseok looks upset, so Luhan shakes his head to stop him from interrupting. “It’s okay, remember, I understand things now. You have more to lose by trusting the wrong person, and I know you want to trust me, but you probably won’t until I’ve gotten you to safety like I promised.”

“What do you want me to do,” Minseok asks him. “I am trying I just...”

“Your feelings for me are real right,” Luhan questions. “You weren’t mistaken, were you? I know we talked about it in my car that day, but you like me, right? You like me, the real me, on your own?” He wants to laugh at how childish he sounds and feels. Luhan also wants to reassure Minseok that regardless of his feelings he will still help him.

“Of course, I do, Luhan,” Minseok answers, right hand squeezing Luhan’s. He reaches the left hand up, running it through Luhan’s hair in comfort again. Luhan leans his head on Minseok’s shoulder and nods more to himself than in reply to Minseok.

“Okay, that brings me to my next request: Let’s go on a date.”

Minseok’s hand halts again, and this time the frustration is replaced by a mild amusement.

“What,” he hears him ask, the confusion clear in his voice.

“We haven’t gone on nearly enough dates since we’ve been together. We’re always too busy or there’s something horrible preventing us. It’ll be Sunday in three days, and I think we have a bit of time left before another horrible thing takes place.”

He looks to Minseok to gauge his reaction.

“Okay,” Minseok agrees, the confusion still there. He looks like he’s expecting Luhan to say it’s a joke.

“Great,” Luhan says with a grin, feeling relaxed once more. He leans forward pressing a brief kiss to Minseok’s forehead. “Now, go get some sleep.”

Minseok doesn’t move when Luhan pulls away from him. He sits there staring at Luhan in apparent thought and Luhan stares back, doing his best not to fidget under the unreadable gaze. Minseok’s hand presses against his cheek, catching him off guard. His hand is cold, but Luhan finds himself smiling at the touch.

“I’m sorry,” Minseok whispers. The smile doesn’t go away, but it does shrink as he tries to understand what Minseok means.

“Wha-” he begins to say. Minseok interrupts him by leaning forward, pressing his lips against Luhan’s. It’s their first proper kiss since Luhan’s confrontation. The kiss is brief, a chaste press of lips, and over before Luhan can really process it.

“I have been trying” he states. “I’m just… worried, you know, about us and all the dangers. I don’t want you to get hurt because of me, Luhan.”

****

Sleep doesn’t come for Luhan that night on its own. He’s trapped in thoughts of the power play that took place during his childhood. His birth father was a high ranked military officer, had been well-versed in strategizing and war tactics, his godfather as well, and his actual blood-related uncle. The three of them had created a rebel coalition designed to protect Imperfects civilians during the Genocide and help them escape the confines of the nation. He’d been chosen as President Kim’s heir not out of pity or desperation, but as a way of spitting on his father’s grave.

In a twisted turn of events, he was heir to both the Red Devils and Caelum, and President Kim knew exactly what he was doing when he drove up to Luhan’s home and commanded him to get in his car that fateful day. Luhan became a pawn, a living example of the nation’s strength and power. To those who knew, it seemed as if the son of a rebel leader had become an upstanding citizen, so indoctrinated into the nation’s ideals that he’d turn in his own father if he was still living. He had become a joke.

Luhan sleeps with the help of his illegal sleeping pills, the sedative nature of the pills keeping the nightmares at bay.

****

Luhan leans back in his cushioned leather seat, eyes closing for a moment as he lets out a noise of irritation. His fingers work at the space between his eyebrows to release the tension that has built up. Office work is not for him, and he doubts it will ever be. He’d do anything to be dealing with egotistical photographers, and wearing clothes that contradicted the actual temperature of the day. He’d even try managing, he’d liked doing that when he got the chance, being in charge and having more of a say in decisions had been enjoyable.

“Sir,” he hears and bites down on his tongue to prevent any more noises from leaving his lips. Joohyun’s voice is soft and soothing, the type of voice he’d associate with a radio host, but every time she called him over their intercom it was about more office work. “President Kim wants you in his office.”

Luhan sits up at that, checking the time as he does so. It’s almost noon, meaning that Minseok should be going home soon if the president doesn’t make him work overtime.

He exits the office a little more relaxed and tells Joohyun he’ll be back after his meeting with President Kim and his lunch.

****

“Are you getting off on time,” Luhan asks as soon as he steps in front of Minseok’s desk. Minseok looks up from squinting at his computer screen with a grin on his lips, nodding his answer. “Why?”

“I’ll take you home,” Luhan says, with a smile to parallel Minseok’s own. Minseok laughs, and he knows that even the old Minseok would try to put up a fight, however, the secretary doesn’t this time. He looks at Luhan, smile still bright and kind and nods his head.

“Okay,” he says refocusing on his computer screen, smile now close lipped.

“Take a seat,” President Kim commands as soon as Luhan steps foot inside the familiar office. He stands once Luhan does so, taking out a beige colored folder and passing it over. Luhan doesn’t speak as he takes the manila folder and flips through the pages.

All he sees are the faces of women–faces that seem familiar despite the stark differences between them–and their backgrounds.

“Are we looking to hire more employees,” Luhan asks. He doesn’t want to interview them. Despite the differences in appearance, all the women share similar backgrounds. Many have graduated from CSFL, like Yixing, while others were privately tutored. None have worked properly in their lifetime. They’re all the daughters of politicians and businessmen. None of them would work at their company with their family backgrounds.

President Kim laughs at him, it doesn’t sound as malicious as it usually does which surprises Luhan. “After recent events, it’s been decided that we need something unifying and uplifting for the citizens.”

“We’re in mourning,” Luhan reminds him bitterly, the memory of Junmyeon’s joke of a memorial service coming back and sitting at the edge of his mind. He closes the folder and places it back on the desk.

“Yes,” President Kim agrees, “but three months from now we won’t be. That’s when our plan will come into play. The most unifying thing a nation could hope for as both a distraction from the happenings and a motivator to move on with life is the merger of two powerful families.”

“A wedding,” Luhan speculates, “I’m one-half of the two powerful families?”

“We are,” President Kim corrects, coming behind Luhan to place a hand on his shoulder. “We will be, at least if we follow my plan.”

“Your plan, sir,” Luhan repeats in question. He doesn’t tense at the feel of President Kim’s touch even if he does want to shrug him off.

“We will properly announce you as heir after the Mourning officially ends. Nessen’s PR team is orchestrating a press leak, but we plan to hold a press conference as soon as we can. There, I will announce your status as heir and give your engagement my blessing.”

Luhan is at a loss for words, not that he’d be able to do anything but express his agreement. Once something was decided by the man behind him, there was no fighting it.

President Kim removes his hand and gestures towards the folder before Luhan. “I’ve done the preliminary work of narrowing down the women with families that wouldn’t lower our status. I’m allowing you to choose your own bride. Go on a few dates, if you must. You have time to make a selection that you can tolerate.”

There’s nothing to say except when, so Luhan does just that. “When will the wedding be?”

“In six months’ time,” President Kim answers. He draws away from Luhan and comes back around to sit at his desk. “A planner has already been chosen, and all you’ll have to do is choose your bride and show up.”

“And Kim Minseok,” Luhan questions. “What will happen to him?”

He notices the way President Kim’s eyes narrow briefly, but he’d never been able to read the man and is unsure rather it’d been a look of suspicion or one of surprise. Instead of sneering like Luhan expects, he responds without ridiculing him.

“I’m aware of your little affair,” President Kim states plainly, “and that he’s currently living with you. Kim Minseok is a valuable employee to me and I don't believe that should change because of your..." he trails off, eyebrow raising in suggestion. “You can explain things to him, or if you prefer you can pay someone else to. I’m sure he’ll understand. I'll have someone look into finding him an apartment in District Four in the meantime. From my understanding, his old home was unsuitable for someone working in this company.”

“Why,” Luhan finally asks. “I understand we need something unifying, but why marriage, and why our family?” The word feels vile as he says it, but President Kim was rarely as agreeable as he is now. Luhan’s learned from the past not to challenge him when he’d get like this. President Kim’s attitude could change instantaneously and often enough when it did, he’d come across crueler than ever before.

“I volunteered us,” President Kim answers. “We are leaders and we must show it in all ways, rather it’s uniting the nation or protecting it.”

He pauses and stares at Luhan, his face completely unreadable. “I know I’ve been rather harsh on you these past few years, but it was all in good conscience. You’ve had eleven years of thinking and being treated as if you were inferior. You are invaluable. Your life is science’s greatest achievement, despite your assumed flaws your very being has ushered us into a new age of science and genetics. Despite that, you came to me with very little self-esteem and weak. I had to undo all of that and instill the values and attitudes of our culture onto you. We as leaders, must sacrifice for the nation, and stand at the forefront of change. We are not allowed to be weak. If we are weak more people like your friend will die from our incompetence.”

"I've proven myself," Luhan asks, his voice barely above a whisper. His eyes drop down to the folder on the desk. He lifts a hand up to touch it. He’s being manipulated. He’s old enough to be aware of it, wise enough to detect it when it is happening, and yet he can’t help the way his posture stiffens, nor the way the air around him thickens in expectation.

“You have,” President Kim answers. Luhan stomach flutters and he feels disgusted at the sensation and himself. “Do you agree to this?”

“To marry and officially become your heir,” he whispers to himself. He wills away all his irrational emotions, instead, trying to regain his logical thought process. “I’ll do it if you can guarantee to me that Kim Minseok will get all that you’ve said. I don’t want him losing his job because you assume he may tempt me, and I want him in a nice apartment in District Four.”

“Will he be a temptation,” President Kim asks him. “Affairs are messy situations and public figures such as yourself can’t afford to be caught in one.”

“No.”

“Then, you have my word,” President Kim says in reply. Luhan nods and stands, grabbing the folder as he does so.

“Thank you, sir. I’ll do my part and find a suitable partner.” He bows in a hurry and makes to leave after President Kim nods his head in dismissal.

Just as he's twisted the door and opened it a bit, the man speaks once more. "Luhan, if those pills you take are what has helped to facilitate this change in you, I'll have a physician prescribe them to you. The elite must not be caught in illegal drug dens."

"I understand," Luhan replies, "Thank you, sir."

President Kim nods and waves his hand as if shooing him away.

He knows why President Kim only brought up the pills in that moment, but as he exits and closes the door behind him he doesn’t feel even an ounce of anger. Minseok sits with his back straight, his eyes are facing forward but not focused on anything, anyone would be able to tell how nervous he is.

“You told him,” Luhan accuses, a teasing grin on his lips to get him to relax. He leans forward till he’s close to Minseok’s ear and whispers the rest of his statement. “I’m not upset if you did.”

“He caught me with them,” Minseok admits, he still hasn’t relaxed but he does meet Luhan’s eyes as he speaks. “I shouldn’t have had them out, but I did at the time and he saw them. He figured it out almost immediately.”

“That’s fine,” Luhan says pulling away. He lifts up the folder for Minseok to see. “I’ll go put this in my office, and I’ll meet you on the ground floor, okay?”

****

“You’re really not upset with me,” Minseok asks, the moment Luhan makes it to the main floor of the entertainment company.

“Of course not,” Luhan answers. “He wanted you to report on my behavior, the pills make it seem as if you’re doing so. It means that he still trusts you, and apparently has no one else watching. If he had anyone else he would have said brothel instead of drug den. It works to our advantage, we don’t need him knowing what I’m truly up to, do we?”

He grabs Minseok’s hand and leads him towards the building’s front entrance.

“What are you doing,” Minseok asks with a laugh, he doesn’t pull his hand out of Luhan’s or tries to stop as Luhan pulls him towards the exit.

“Walking you home,” Luhan answers, “it’s a lovely day.”

“Luhan, you’ll barely have time to eat before you need to return to the office if you walk me home.” He still doesn’t try to stop walking but his tone is disapproving, and he’s frowning at Luhan.

“I know,” Luhan says, “but if I drive, we’ll arrive too quickly and I don’t want that. I want to spend more time with you outside and not stuck inside my car or at home.”

Minseok looks ready to disagree but Luhan interrupts before he can protest even more. “I’ll stop at a cafe on my way back and buy something for lunch.”

“Send me a picture,” Minseok demands.

“Of course,” Luhan promises.

They walk in silence at first, Minseok’s hand is warm in his own and relaxing despite the heat of the sun beating down on them. Minseok hadn’t changed overnight. He was still hesitant in many ways and tensed up momentarily whenever Luhan touched him unexpectedly, but he was trying harder than before and Luhan was grateful for it. Luhan was also careful now. He didn’t want Minseok trying too hard to appease him nor did he want to force him into doing too much, so he was conscious of his own behavior.

“Where did you want to go on our date,” Luhan asks, looking towards the shorter male. “What time do you want to go? We can leave early if you want, or go out later. We can even spend the entire day out.”

“I thought you had it planned already,” Minseok says, it’s the tone he uses that causes Luhan to grin to himself, pulling him closer so that there’s no space in-between them. He let’s go of Minseok’s hand and wraps an arm around his shoulder, putting on an exaggerated pout.

“I did,” Luhan says, resting his head against Minseok as he playfully whines his answer. “I have planned for us to do whatever you want to do.”

“Well, we have a problem then,” Minseok says, the teasing tone still there. “I want to do what you want as well. So, let’s compromise.” Luhan pulls away from Minseok to meet his eyes in question, gesturing for him to continue. “I don’t want to go to a fancy restaurant just because you assume that’s what a date should be. I want to do something fun, something that represents us and our relationship. It’s a little weird and unconventional, so let’s do something like that.”

Luhan’s quiet then, lost in thought as he tries to think of something weird and unconventional. “I’ll show you the city then. It’s something I used to do when I was younger, exploring the city, finding unfamiliar places and adventures. Junmyeon took me to the ugliest ice-cream shop around not too long ago, it was nice.”

Minseok laughs, grinning up at Luhan. "Exploring the city with you sounds fun," he agrees.

****

Luhan takes a picture of himself holding the large muffin he'd bought and sends it to Minseok as he sits down at his desk. He grabs the folder that he'd left behind, deciding to look through it again. All the women are beautiful. There are fifteen of them, all from different regions throughout the country, and with varying looks, but they’re all so similar. The women live within the city limits in homes throughout District One and Two. They’ve gone to the same school or have been tutored by teachers with impressive credentials. Only a quarter of them seem to work, the rest live lives of leisure thanks to their parents’ money.

One of them will be his bride.

If he stays he’ll have to marry one of them. If he stays he’ll officially become heir and if Yixing’s theory is correct he’ll be heir to more than just an entertainment company. If he stays, if he listens to President Kim and doesn’t die before him or Great Ruler, he may become the next leader of the nation.

Maybe, he should stay. Minseok had seemed uncomfortable with the idea of Luhan leaving with him. Luhan hadn’t really planned to leave either, it had just been a possibility, something he’d said to Yixing and Minseok while overwhelmed. Staying would be for the best, it would be the responsible thing to do. If he stayed, if he became Great Ruler, he could do something more. He could put an end to the fighting between Perfects and Imperfects, and make sure that no one else died. He could end the laws that kept Imperfects fearful and hidden in the shadows of cities.

Only, how many people would die before he could do so? And just how much more of his morals would he have to hide to get to that point?

If he left, he'd have nowhere to return to. He wouldn’t have anywhere to go either. Minseok might not want him around, and regardless of his father's alliance, he was an enemy to the Red Devils now. His disappearance would make him an enemy to the nation. If caught he'd be a dead man.

It would be a gamble, either option relying heavily on possibilities rather than facts. Both having an ending of death if he wasn't careful.

A steady beeping from his computer screen draws him out of his thoughts, and he looks up just as the entire screen turns white. The beeping continues, it’s not loud but nothing Luhan does fixes it. It stops suddenly, a screech of a noise replaces it as the white fades to black.

The letters JUMHRG appears on the screen in white, and the sight of it relaxes him as he recalls the coded language the former CNS tech created.

The blinking cursor beside the bolded word begins moving as more letters arranged in code appear.

WM MV CGEHV

Luhan had been told to keep the messages short and to the point. They'd already worked out the details to everything, so he knows as he types his own message that it will be understood.

WBHQ WCXYVGEB?

⇒I would honestly be the worst spy ever, like creating code languages are hard. Anyway.... I'll be nice and tell you what the bolded parts say instead of having you figure it out. JUMHRG means friend btw,

The first line written by the Tech says "IT IS READY" and the second line written by Luhan says "NEXT SATURDAY?"

Luhan has a decision to make and we have two chapters left before this fanfic is over. I don't know if he'll stay or go, I do have an ending in mind but nothing's for sure until it's written and posted.