Sunggyu had finished one red velvet cupcake, waiting for Woohyun to meet him at the café. He was supposed to go on break 25 minutes ago but had probably been roped into something else. Sunggyu had decided to tuck into something to make the time pass. Shaking his head, he checked his cell phone, no text from Woohyun. Sighing, he gestured at the waiter, asking for a refill of his coffee. The smartly dressed waiter skipped up to him and handed him a folded piece of white paper with a broad smile.

Sliding the paper open, Sunggyu read the few words in familiar penmanship in once glance.

‘I’m starting to feel immortal again. Am I a fool? -LS’

His messages were always brief and cryptic, but the main purpose, of course, was to announce that nothing ill had befallen him.

“Who gave this to you?” Sunggyu asked the waiter hurriedly – he had been waiting for this, a new communication from Sungjong. This time, he had something to say to him.

“That man over th-” the waiter pointed to an empty table in the corner. His eyebrows rose in surprise when they both heard the bell overhead the café door rang. “That’s him over there,” the waiter said. Sunggyu caught a glimpse of dark hair and a blue overcoat. Throwing some money onto the table, Sunggyu took hold of his jacket, hanging at the back of his chair and slid his arm into it as he ran after the man who had just exited the café.

He was fast and he could see the blue overcoat weaving in and out of the crowd. Determined not to lose him, Sunggyu pushed past a few people, deaf to the groans and complaints. He was really close, almost within reach; his insides were squirming. Finally, he was able to grasp the sleeve of the blue overcoat; he grabbed strongly, deterring the man’s advance through the crowd, forcing him to turn around. Even before he saw his face, he knew it wasn’t Sungjong. He felt it, more than he saw it.

“Can I help you?” The man's tone was crass and even though his eyebrows were raised at an apparent stranger, Sunggyu felt like he knew him. Seoul was a big city and Sunggyu knew a lot of people in it; he was usually good at remembering faces but this man in front of him... he was something else. A shadow... a nightmare... a mask - a scream that sounded very much like something ripped from his own throat. He felt goosebumps on his arms under the jacket.

“I need to talk to sungjong,” he whispered. It was loud around them, noisy even, but the man saw his lips move and his expression changed. He started to shake Sunggyu off, but he was ready for this. Grabbing the lapels of the other man's coat in an iron grip he shoved him through the crowd, catching weird looks and curses from Seoulites in his way. The other man had been taken by surprise no doubt and before he could start to struggle, he had been dragged into a nearby shoddy ally and pinned against a grimy wall by Sunggyu. Sunggyu was taller than him, more intimidating, but the man showed no signs that he was shaken. Removed from the bustling of the main street, Sunggyu looked into the man's eyes coldly. This man had caused him pain, he was sure, although he couldn't remember the details. But revenge was not on his plate at the moment; there was something far more important.

“I need to speak to Sungjong,” he repeated, loudly this time, watching the other man’s eyes dilate slightly.

After a full minute, the man parted his lips.

“I am just a messenger, I don't know where he is.” His jaws were set and Sunggyu knew no matter how much he was tortured, he wouldn't give his leader up. That was the kind of devotion the Blood Lily generated in his men.

“Then give him a message,” Sunggyu said, pushing the man farther into the wall even though he didn't need to. The man had stopped struggling and was looking at him with his teeth bare, disgust etched on his face. “Tell him I want to see him. I need to talk to him. It's important.”

The man was silent. It looked like he was debating whether to try and grab him by the neck and squeeze the life out of him. Maybe he didn't like the fact that Sungjong was in contact with him.

“He doesn’t need to know anything you have to say,” the man said through gritted teeth.

A jolt of electricity ran through him. A shadow of a blonde man leering at him – through his cloudy vision, he could make out the curve of the man’s jaw…Taejoon? What had they called him? What had Sungjong called him? Taemin?

“I should have finished the job when I had the chance.” He saw murder in the man’s eyes. Immediately, he felt uneasy. He was still a desk agent, he missed the feeling of his revolver at his waist. It slowly came to him, the feeling of helplessness, despair, the taste of blood.

“You are the one … you were there…” Sunggyu’s voice was strained as the wave of memory crashed upon his conscious, stabs of pain erupted through his body. The questions – How much do you know about us? How did you find out about this place?

Was it Sungjong who had asked the questions, or had it been Taemin?

Taking advantage of his temporary weakness, Taemin shrugged him off of him. He looked like he would have liked to do much more physical damage but instead, he started to walk away from him.

It was his last chance.

“Sungjong would want to know what I have to say,” he shouted after him. “There is a reason he sends me this messages, he would want to know.”

Taemin didn’t look back but Sunggyu was sure he had heard him. All he could do was wait for his message to be passed on.

And then what?

Would Sungjong really talk to him or come and see him? Was it not too dangerous? Besides, how would he know that this was not a trap?

For Myungsoo’s sake, he hoped that Sungjong’s feelings for him were strong enough to bring him to him.

Woohyun was seated comfortably at a table, sipping his lemon ginger tea, when Sunggyu arrived. He had missed a few calls and texts from him, which as strange because Woohyun had thought that he was the one who was going to be late. Shrugging off his jacket, Sunggyu sat down in front of him, but something was wrong. His face was unusually red, his breathing uneven.

“Are you okay?” Woohyun asked with concern.

Sunggyu nodded a bit too quickly.

“Why do you ask?”

“You’re flushed. You don’t look so well. What happened?” Reaching out, he brushed a few strands of hair wet with sweat out of the elder’s eyes.

“Just ah…I was jogging.”

Exercise would explain the shallow breathing and the flushed face, but not the absent-minded look in his eyes. What could have caused him such consternation? Sometimes he had this look at night, having woken up from a nightmare. Woohyun would find him sat up in bed with his hands around his knees, sweat drenched through the back of his shirt.

“What did you see?” he insisted after his boyfriend had ordered his drink.

“Let it go, Woohyun, it was nothing.”

If Sunggyu didn’t want to talk about it, he would let it go, but he didn’t believe that it was nothing. He had never seen Sunggyu have these episodes during the day, but they did spend less time together in the day. Maybe his boyfriend suffered all through the day, without him knowing about it.

Knowing that apologizing for not noticing earlier would make Sunggyu feel uncomfortable – he liked pretending like these nightmares didn’t exist, he had always feared being vulnerable – he changed the subject.

“Did you invite Myungsoo to the Christmas Eve party?”

Sunggyu looked grateful at the change of topic.

“I did. He…he’s not coming.”

“He’s not?” Woohyun sighed; he had expected as much but it still hurt.

For a year, while Sunggyu was ill, he and Myungsoo had supported each other, been there for each other. Woohyun loved him like his own brother.

At first, Woohyun had understood. Just after the explosion at Star Destiny and the big reveal, Myungsoo had been confused, hurt, conflicted. Every day, Woohyun would sit by his hospital bed, praying for his quick recovery. When he had blamed Woohyun, he had thought it was just a fleeting emotion. Soon, Myungsoo would realize the betrayal, the diabolical scheme of Sungjong and come to hate him, maybe even want revenge.

What he hadn’t expected was the lingering feeling of hatred towards him. That day, he had saved Myungsoo’s life. He had killed a vile human being who didn’t deserve anymore justice. It was a part of his job. It was unthinkable to him why Myungsoo would take Sungjong’s side, knowing what he did about his ex-boyfriend. It was unfair, to say the least.

It had hurt him when Myungsoo had stopped talking to him, left the job, and did everything to avoid him. He had thought things would change with time, but it had been months and he saw no change in him.

“Woohyun, he doesn’t want to face the others, who were there that day,” Sunggyu said softly, taking his hand in his.

At least Sunggyu understood. He was grateful that his boyfriend was on his side.

“You mean he doesn’t want to see me,” he said bitterly.

Instead of replying, Sunggyu started rubbing the back of his hand gently; it was his way of comforting him.

“Myungsoo’s suffering, even now.”

Woohyun had suspected as much. It didn’t make sense for him to still love someone who had only played him. And yet…

“Is he going to his therapist?”

“Yeah, but I don’t think he’s making any progress. In fact, I won’t be surprised if he just sits there, not saying anything.”

The brothers had bonded after the incident. It was a new experience for Sunggyu to care for someone, but he was doing his best. He was trying to be a kind, understanding brother, but it was just as difficult for him. After all, he had been a victim of Sungjong as well, twice, in fact.

“We have to do something.”

Sunggyu suddenly started to look uncomfortable, almost as if he was hiding something from him. He wouldn’t be hiding anything from him; the idea was absurd. They were well past that point. Granted, he didn’t talk to him directly about the nightmares he had, or anything about the past for that matter, but he would let Woohyun hold him and whisper, “It’s okay,” to him.

“Unless you know how to raise the dead…” Sunggyu tried to say in a lighter voice.

“I think I had the right to kill Sungjong,” Woohyun said firmly, looking his boyfriend in the eye.  He had never lost a wink of sleep over killing Sungjong – he deserved it. Besides, he had done it to save Sunggyu, Myungsoo, everyone he cared for. If time turned back, he would do it again in a heartbeat. “What do you think?”

“Of course,” Sunggyu agreed, but he couldn’t help but think that the elder was keeping something back. “That’s not the question. It’s just Myungsoo…”

“I had no other choice.” Sunggyu wouldn’t second guess his decision but he wanted him to know, to be absolutely sure, that he hadn’t intentionally brought this upon his brother. It hurt him to see Myungsoo suffer.

“It’s not your fault.” His voice was sincere.

“I know.”