Choice

Tao had suggested that they took a subtler approach to the situation. He had wanted them to contact Taehyuk, make him come over and question him with persuasion and discretion until Taehyuk caved in and they could get Yixing’s location. That would have been the optimal choice. Too bad Junmyeon hadn’t heard Tao’s wise idea and instead acted on pure instinct, on the newfound emotions, which took him to the Byun manor, where they were currently watching how Mr. Byun gloated over his advantage and the fact that Tao and Junmyeon were helpless.

“Then, what will your choice be, Kim Junmyeon?” Mr. Byun asked.

Yes, this had been a terrible choice. But after Junmyeon had gotten back to his senses and could feel again, he couldn’t control his emotions as usual. He had gone from despairing sadness to eagerness for knowing where Yixing was and finding the culprits, and just as quickly to an impatience and necessity to rescue Yixing straightaway. All the memories from the early afternoon reminded him of what an appalling person he was. Saving Yixing from the danger, he had brought to him, felt like the obvious thing to do. At least there could be one thing he didn’t screw up. The motive was indeed selfish, he knew that, but he couldn’t control the emotions and their urging need to visit the Byun’s and demand they gave Yixing back. So, he did that.

Junmyeon hadn’t even changed his clothes but continued to wear the ones from their visit to the cemetery. His eyes were red and puffy due to all the tears that had fallen. But Junmyeon was beyond reason at this point and didn’t care about those details when he arrived at the Byun manor. He was always welcomed there, had Taehyuk said once, but not when he wanted to interrupt the Byun’s dinner party in celebration of Taehyuk’s mother. Ignoring the butler’s pleads and Tao’s voice of reason, Junmyeon barged his way into the dining room. With a stern face, he demanded to talk to Taehyuk while the rest of the Byun family members looked at him astonished. Taehyuk, taken aback by that attitude, stood up and excused himself from the table. Nervously, Taehyuk brought Junmyeon and Tao with him to a small parlor, which seemed to be used for his son if that explained all the baby stuff laying around. As soon as the doors closed, Junmyeon grabbed Taehyuk by the collar. The sudden anger caught Junmyeon by surprise but still spread like wildfire within him. Having his emotions back must have put him in some sort of emotional imbalance. Usually, they were never this turbulent.

Distress could be seen in Taehyuk’s face while he tried to catch his breath.

“Hey, Junmyeon, let him go!” Tao said.

But all Junmyeon was feeling was rage, uncontainable fury, and he thanked heavens that his Emotion Watch was only shining yellow so far.

“Not until he tells me where the hell Yixing is!” Junmyeon yelled.

“Wha-what?” Taehyuk asked, feigning innocence because Junmyeon couldn’t believe that he wasn’t involved in this, even though he and Tao had only been speculating about the Byun’s involvement.

“Cut the crap, Taehyuk. You know exactly what I’m talking about. Why else has your so-called ‘dead’ brother-in-law, Kim Jongdae, been threatening me? Huh?” Junmyeon asked and shook the man back and forth. “Where have you taken him?”

Taehyuk’s eyes widened while his mouth hung open. He fought to find his words and stammered all the while Junmyeon held him in a firm grip. In the end, Taehyuk didn’t need to say anything because the doors of the parlor opened, and his father, Mr. Byun, walked in.

“That was quite the entrance you made back there, young Kim,” Mr. Byun said while he walked past his son and Junmyeon and sat down on a sofa. Despite Junmyeon’s rude interruption, the man was tranquil, nonchalant, and told Junmyeon to let go of Taehyuk so they could talk like civilized people and not a bunch of savages. Junmyeon just wanted to punch Mr. Byun’s face, like he had always wanted to do ever since realizing he did his uttermost to drive him up to the wall. Eventually, Junmyeon released Taehyuk but refused to sit down with Mr. Byun. Tao also stood beside Junmyeon while the father and son sat comfortably in front of them, Taehyuk was trying to recover from the sudden attack.

“Give us Yixing back,” Junmyeon commanded while crossing his arms and frowning, assuming a position that said he wouldn’t leave this place empty handed.

“You barge into my house uninvited, cause a commotion in the dining hall during my wife’s birthday, and then you think you can order me around?” Mr. Byun laughed and shook his head. “I’m afraid it’s not gonna be that easy, young Kim.”

That was all Junmyeon needed to hear. “So, you admit it. You’ve kidnapped an innocent person. That’s a crime!” he said while pointing at them. “You better tell us where he is, safe and sound, or-”

“Or what?” The devilish grin on Mr. Byun’s face told he wouldn’t surrender easily either. “I’m not the one who has kept him hidden this whole time. I’m not the monster who wants to release an unreadable into the world. If anything, I’m being precautious and not letting you two obstruct justice.”

Junmyeon scoffed, “Oh, but you’ve done it too, haven’t you? Kim Jongdae is also an unreadable, and you’ve been using him to send me those threats, and possibly kidnap Yixing too. Even though he allegedly died three years ago? Oh, people would be interested to know what kind of strings you’ve pulled to make that one.”

“Do you really think anyone would believe the nonsense you’re saying?” Mr. Byun asked, “Don’t make me laugh, kids. You’re the ones who have so much to lose here. Especially you, Mister Huang. I’m sure your father and your superiors would be thrilled to hear that you set free an unreadable. After that great slip you made, I’m not so sure you should be standing here.”

Tao swallowed while he glared back at the older man. “Compared to what you’ve done, sir, they may not even find me that bad. Kim Jongdae has left behind enough traces for us to confirm he’s alive. A fingerprint, a simple strand of hair could prove that you’ve committed a severe crime. If all of this is made public, maybe it’s you who got everything to lose.”

“So, you better give us Yixing back unless you want to pay the consequences,” Junmyeon added.

As odd as it was to hear it, Mr. Byun laughed, a joyful laugh. “You two sure talk a lot. But, you see, that’s where you kids are wrong. I’m not the one thinking of exposing the unreadables issue to the public in exchange for keeping one free. I’m not the one who is Huang or a Kim, don’t forget that, I’m a Byun.” And with that said, the old man smiled sardonically at them.

The truth in Mr. Byun’s statement continued fuming Junmyeon’s anger. Even though he and Tao had the footage, even if they made the Security Department aware of what had happened with Kim Jongdae, and they decided to investigate and gather proof of Junmyeon’s and Tao’s accusations, the main suspects were the Byun’s. The Byun’s had the current leader of the nation on their side. Who could guarantee that any proof wouldn’t mysteriously be destroyed or showed the wrong results or anything else happened that would leave them free of blame? Even if Tao’s father was the head of the Security Department, there was a higher law above him. At the end of the day, the Byun’s had everything in their favor, while Junmyeon and Tao didn’t. These people were crazy enough to feign the death of someone, kidnap another person, and who knew what else if it meant they would stay in power. Realizing this didn’t help Junmyeon to dissipate his anger. On the contrary, he felt more rage at knowing he was powerless and at their mercy. Good camaraderie my , Junmyeon thought. All Taehyuk’s speeches about having a good fellowship and may the best man win were a bunch of lies made by his persona during the political campaign. Clearly, his family would do anything to make him the next one in charge.

“Why are you doing this?” Junmyeon asked. “Why Yixing? He’s got nothing to do with this!”

“An ace up your sleeve, it’s an ace up your sleeve, no matter how it leads you to your victory. I’m sure you understand that better than anyone, young Kim.”

Junmyeon squeezed his fists. Maybe in the past he would have agreed, heck, he had done so when he had tricked Yixing in the most horrible way. Not anymore, though, not if it involved harming innocent people, people that had nothing to do with this rat race. It sickened him to know that this had always been a nasty battle in which only the vilest one would survive.

“I suggest you keep complete silence and delete any recordings of this conversation,” Mr. Byun said while staring at Tao, “I’m sure you don’t want your friend to suffer the repercussions of your choices.”

Junmyeon hadn’t even thought of it, but he was sure Tao was gathering more proof of the Byun’s involvement. And despite the irrational thought of wanting to force the older man to talk, Junmyeon tried to calm down, which was borderline impossible at this point. Even if he had to bite his tongue, Junmyeon wouldn’t say anything. He only looked at Tao and nodded. Tao was furrowing his eyebrows but took out his phone anyway and held it up so they could see he stopped the recording and deleted the file.

“Then, what will your choice be, Kim Junmyeon?”

And that was how Junmyeon had ended in a pickle. He wasn’t sure that having his emotions back was for the better because he couldn’t come up with an answer. And when Mr. Byun said Junmyeon was wasting his time, he ordered them to leave while he returned to his wife’s birthday dinner. Junmyeon knew what to do and before when to do it. He was only welcomed here again when he had taken the ‘correct’ choice, had Mr. Byun said. Taehyuk left alongside his father while looking at him like some lost puppy. As if Junmyeon could believe in his opponent’s acts anymore.

From that roller-coaster of a day, Junmyeon had thought of what to do. For one thing, he had realized why the Byun’s had struck and shown their true colors only now. Obviously, Junmyeon was at a tremendous advantage at the moment. The break-up hadn’t put an end to the future of his campaign only improved it. At the same time, Yixing had become his main weakness, and whatever way the Byun’s had used to find out about Yixing’s unreadable status, they used it to their advantage, to have Junmyeon cornered.

His irrational heart shouted that he should announce his leave from his candidature immediately, but the rational mind spoke that wouldn’t be the wisest choice. If he managed to become the next leader of the nation, then he’ll have a higher chance to better the quality of life of all unreadables, not only Yixing’s. But that meant Yixing would have to spend two years or more, locked in a rehabilitation facility. And depending on whether Yixing wanted to become a puppet for the Security Department, became aggressive and sedated with the emotion suppressants (Tao had explained those were the primary usages of the medicine) or didn’t resist and stayed confined for years, Yixing’s fate could be vastly different. There was a risk Yixing could change in the upcoming years. Maybe as an effect of the medicine, he could end up emotionally numb for life, like Junmyeon had been planning on becoming. Junmyeon knew Yixing was a fighter and would most certainly not stay with his arms crossed in that place. There was no way he would accept to help at the Security Department either. So, leaving Yixing locked in for a few years wouldn’t lead to anything good.

However, dropping out of the elections would come with consequences too. For Junmyeon, his personal case file would be smudge with having disobeyed the System. All these years he and Minseok had worked together would go down the drain. His supporters would be disappointed in him. After how much they had believed in him, he would be letting them down. In their eyes, he’d become a traitor, a liar. Hate would not fail to make its presence. And not only would he be in the eye of the storm, but also his family and the company he was Vice President of. The scandal could taint the image of Kim Industries and Silver Group, maybe even cause severe repercussions and lost in business. All his life he had worked towards making his family proud, towards filling the absence of his little brother in the best possible way, as someone worthy of respect and admiration, not a complete waste of breathing space. If he did this, all of that would be gone.

What should he do?

He was under extreme pressure and was going crazy just thinking about what to choose. That time was limited wasn’t helpful. Mr. Byun had given him four days to make a choice. And then the Security Department had also gotten involved. The active search for Yixing had begun. Despite Tao requesting to be in charge, the case hadn’t been handed to him due to his friendship with Yixing. Luckily, the Emotion Watches inbuilt GPS only activated when a crime coefficient was either close to an orange zone, or when it was already in an orange or red zone. Of course, Yixing’s watch wouldn’t light up, so there was still time. And even if Junmyeon had thought that letting the crime prevention enforcers find out that the Byun’s had taken Yixing, and used Kim Jongdae, it would only mean that Yixing, Tao and him would end up losing. The Byun’s could easily wash their hands with immunity from the Leader of the Nation while Yixing was discovered to be an unreadable, and Junmyeon and Tao were accused of treachery for not reporting him and wanting to help him leave the country. There was no way to win for Junmyeon in this situation.

Everything worsened because of the withdrawal symptoms that had come since he got his emotions back. For one, he felt emotions way too much. Even the slightest thing like Tao chewing his food too loudly could get him annoyed. But also hearing Tao say he couldn’t help him make a choice because it was him who had to do it, made Junmyeon angry. If Tao hadn’t made him stop taking the emotions suppressants… Then he wouldn’t be feeling like going crazy any minute now. Junmyeon also felt sick and anxious, more withdrawal symptoms. A habit of biting his nails and pulling his hair had appeared in just a few days. Neither could Junmyeon sleep anymore because he was haunted by what to do, including memories and nightmares. It was impossible to close his eyes and go to sleep when the slightest recall of Yixing’s derisive gaze and rejection could have him crying in minutes, or Jaemin and the cause of his death, or any other terrible memory that seemed to torment him in the late night. At some point, he felt would be suffering cardiac arrest because of how fast his heart beat at times. The painkillers had at least taken away that feeling.

Junmyeon was aware that time was running out, but he still couldn’t bear himself to make a choice. Family, obligations, duties, contra Yixing, the man he had once loved so much (although he couldn’t remember how that felt anymore). Tao was stupid to believe that Junmyeon would be able to make a rational choice when all his emotions were unleashed, and his mind didn’t seem to catch up with them.

But then February third had come. And Junmyeon had a couple of hours left before the day ended and the Byun’s turned in Yixing. At that point, Junmyeon decided to listen to one of the many voices in his mind that spoke.

Yixing continued looking outside the arched windows. This room had a great view of the garden, a garden covered in white but that must look spectacular during the spring, as expected of the fancy mansion he was confined at. His hand touched the glass panels. No matter how much he had tried to break them, the glass was resistant, bulletproof and most likely unbreakable. But even if he had managed to break them, Yixing didn’t know how he would have survived the landing when he was stuck on the third floor. The snow couldn’t possibly work as a landing mattress. He let out a sigh while he lightly hit his head against the window.

More or less ten days had passed since he woke up in this vast and fancy bedroom. Yixing didn’t remember how he had gotten here. The last thing his mind could recall was him and Sooyoung discussing the flower shop’s management. What happened later, how he ended up here and whatnot, was gone, as if somebody had wiped out those memories. And waking up in an unknown destination had him frightened. He had shouted for help, tried to find a way out, but the room had no door handles, neither did the windows. Yixing found there was also a bathroom in the room but no way of escaping either. He kept wondering why somebody was holding him imprisoned and his first thought was that Junmyeon had gone nuts and wanted to stop him from leaving. A voice in his head laughed at him and said Junmyeon couldn’t possibly do that… Yixing wasn’t sure, but his suspicions faded a bit when the doors opened, and he saw an unknown man walking in and holding a tray of food.

Yixing did the only wise thing one could do in that situation, run. He pushed the stranger aside, making him drop the tray, and then ran into the hallway. Too bad he couldn’t make it far because just as he turned a corner, another man with dark shades and a suit threatened him with a gun. It was one of those moderns guns only the people at the Security Department could use, according to the pictures he had seen, which made him wonder if he had been caught and was held at a rehabilitation facility. He wasn’t wearing his Emotion Watch, so maybe that could explain it.

“Go back inside,” the man with the gun ordered. Yixing didn’t want to test his luck. He had read that the Security Department didn’t use the old guns that fired regular bullets, and he wasn’t quite sure he wanted to test what kind of weapon that was. He gulped and walked backward until he could get inside the bedroom and the man continued threatening him from the doorframe. The first man he had seen was picking up the mess the tray of food had made.

“Who the hell are you? Where the hell am I?” Yixing asked, scared and confused about the whole thing. “Is this a rehabilitation facility?”

The man finally stood up. He was a bit shorter than Yixing. He gave him a soft smile with the uncanny resemblance of a cat. “I’m Dae, and no, this isn’t a rehabilitation facility,” he said.

But Yixing wasn’t having any of that friendliness. “Then, why am I here? Why are you keeping me locked in?” Yixing would have wanted to appear more forceful, dreadful, but chose to contain himself due to the creepy guy still standing underneath the doorframe.

“We’ll make sure to bring you meals in the mornings, noon, and evenings. If there is anything you don’t like or if you want a snack, just tell me, and I’ll bring it to you. You can use anything in the room to keep you entertained, the TV, the books on the shelf or the things on the desk over there. There are also brand-new clothes and sheets in the closet for you to use.”

Yixing squeezed his hands into fists. Did they think he would be glad at hearing that? “Why the heck am I here? This is illegal. You can’t keep me locked in here, damn it!”

Dae didn’t even flinch at hearing him scream but smiled ruefully this time. “Sorry, but we can’t let you go yet. You’ll have to stay with us until he makes the right choice. I’ll bring you another tray of breakfast.”

“He? Who’s he? What are you talking about? Answer me!” Yixing asked, following the man, but the door was slammed in his face.

“Why do I get the feeling Junmyeon is behind all this?” he asked himself. It could be the only explanation. Nobody knew that Yixing was an unreadable. Nobody had tried to harm him in the past before he had met Kim Junmyeon. So, this could all be due to fanaticism going overboard. What if one of Junmyeon crazy supporters was behind all this? They were surely treating him way too kind if that was the case, almost as if he were staying at a five-stars hotel. Or worse, what if Junmyeon was, in fact, responsible for this? The man had a fortune of money, he could certainly find ways to pull this off. But then what right choice did Junmyeon have to make? Yixing sighed in exasperation.

And that was how Yixing had woken up in this unknown house with these unknown people. Each day he had tried to find a way to escape, a way to break the windows or hit his guards unconscious with a thick book, only to find out there were more people monitoring the house and there was no way out for him. Eventually, Dae had told him to not attempt to run away anymore unless he wanted to fall unconscious and lose his memory. Apparently, those guns used projectiles that were dart injections. The shots were a powerful sedative with the ability to induce retrograde amnesia. He could lose up to twelve hours’ worth of memories. So, after hearing that, Yixing did give up trying to escape. He feared what they might do to him. He also suspected that was why he couldn’t remember how he got here, somebody must have shot him with one of those guns. He did remember seeing a little punctuation on his arms during his first day in confinement. Either way, that didn’t mean he behaved any nicer towards Dae and the other guards.

In his head Yixing counted the days that passed. Whatever choice whoever had to take was sure taking their damn time. If it were Junmyeon, this was another thing he wouldn’t forgive. No, because the days had gone by and he had missed his flight back home. He wondered how Kyungsoo and the others were doing. They were probably dead worried, as his parents must be when they realized Yixing hadn’t contacted them nor landed at the airport. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol were perhaps keeping them posted. His friends might even be looking for him. They would surely have reported his disappearance to the authorities. But Yixing wasn’t wearing his Emotion Watch, and even if he did, he knew the incompetents at the Security Department couldn’t tell he was in danger. Although so far nobody had harmed him, threatened him with those dart guns, yes, but physically or mentally hurting him, no. Even that day Yixing felt like suffocating because he hadn’t seen the sun or left the room in what felt like ages, Dae had listened to him and brought him out. Of course, he was under maximum surveillance, but at least he got to see how big this mansion was and how remote from civilization it appeared to be located at. At least he was alive. Still, all this confusing hostage-kidnapper situation was exasperating and Yixing’s impatience to be free grew with each passing day. He hated it. He hated this country. He hated these people. He hated that he still had feelings for a man who had brought him so much distress.

And so, around ten days had passed, and Yixing was still here, locked in and hitting himself against the window. During the initial days, he had refused to touch anything, even sleeping on the bed, as a sign of protest and discontent. But soon the boredom and the cold floors were affecting him. He didn’t want to go insane while waiting either. Yixing decided to sleep comfortably. He read the books in the shelf, although oddly most of them were historical books about how and why the System was created. It was evident that all the authors were biased and praised the development to the skies. Fools. What Yixing did refuse to do was to watch TV because people were still talking as if Junmyeon was the greatest man to set foot in the earth. Sometimes when he ate his meals, Dae accompanied him, but Yixing wouldn’t talk to him and only asked questions of when the hell they were going to release him. The conversation always ended with ‘when he makes the right choice.’ Yixing had asked if Dae was referring to Kim Junmyeon, but the shorter man refused to say anything. Yixing was starting to hate him too, and the other gorilla that always stood underneath the doorframe with a gun in his hand.

Eventually, Yixing walked away from the arched window. He laid on the bed and went back to reading one of the books he had found that weren’t historical. It was written centuries ago but kept him entertained and not desperate to the point he wanted to pull his hairs out. As soon as he left this place, he would leave this country forever.

That same day, it was later in the evening when Dae walked into the room. Yixing would have expected for him to bring him his dinner, but Dae came empty-handed. Although the guard that used to stand underneath the door wasn’t there.

“He made a choice,” Dae said and smiled. He took out the Emotion Watch he was wearing and gave it to Yixing. Dae must have taken his watch from him and used it. “You can go now.”

And that was all it took for Yixing to jump out of the armchair, where he had been reading now, and ignored his need of asking a bunch of questions. He still wanted to hit these bastards for keeping him locked in all this time but thought better of it and decided to leave calmly. He wouldn’t even file an accusation at the Security Department, Yixing just wanted to go as soon as possible. How he’ll return to the city when he had no idea where he was would be resolved later. But he was sure as hell going home now.

“Freaking finally.”

Ever since Jaemin’s death, somewhere along the recovery road, Junmyeon had somewhat lost his free will. Most of the decisions he had made were to ensure he was worthy of staying here, alive and breathing. He became a better student, a better Kim, a better worker, a better candidate, a better citizen. It was all to ensure people would be pleased with him. His teachers had been content, his grandparents and parents had been proud, his supporters were glad. Of course, most of it he had done because of the guilt and shame he felt, not because he really wanted any of that. So, when the letter notifying him that he was chosen to run for the leadership of the nation came, Junmyeon accepted that out of duty. His parents had been happy but concerned whether he genuinely wanted to do it given the tremendous responsibility it entailed. His grandparents, on the other hand, had been more than proud that Junmyeon was granted one of the highest honors. They supported the decision immediately and didn’t hide how proud they were from the rest of the world.

That was how Junmyeon had lived most of his life, accepting orders and making decisions that would make others proud and envious of him, of his family, of who they were, never actually wondering whether he wanted it or not. That was why he choose his first option in the aptitude test, that was why he ‘believed firmly’ in what the System had dictated for him without questioning it, that was why he hired Minseok to help him win the elections, that was why he accepted who the System had matched him with and did anything he could (fair or not) to keep Yixing by his side because it would lead him to a victory.

However, maybe it was because his emotions were all over the place, which affected his sense of reason, or because Yixing had made him realize that he could make a choice on his own, like choosing to say I love you because he truly had felt it at that moment, not because that was what Yixing had wanted to hear, Junmyeon could ask himself the question.

What did he want?

Junmyeon wanted to do the right thing, and in this case, the right thing meant to save him. He couldn’t rescue his little brother from dying. Instead, he had driven Jaemin to death. This time, he wouldn’t commit that same mistake because living with the guilt that he had ruined Yixing would be another punishment to add to his shoulders. And he didn’t want that. His choice obviously meant that he would lose the most. Choosing Yixing would cause the most terrible outcomes. His family would lose, his supporters would lose, his company would lose. But he would also lose Yixing because there was no way he and Tao would let him stay in this country for one more second, and Junmyeon wouldn’t be able to have privileges like traveling abroad anymore. He still felt he was making the right choice. Tao had said they owed Yixing saving him, but Junmyeon felt he owed this to Qian more. It was with her in mind that Junmyeon went through with this choice, not because he thought his grand gesture would make Yixing run back to him. But of course, he had selfish motives too, because after the way she had died, after the way Jaemin had died, Junmyeon wanted to save at least one person, have a clean conscience.

Therefore, Junmyeon was clad in one of his best suits. They had to put on him enormous amounts of make-up to conceal his dark eyes and decayed countenance. The cameras and the lights were pointing at him. The director said they would go in the air in two minutes. He was sweating and was a nerve wreck, but he didn’t take any emotion suppressants. Tao was keeping an eye on him, and Junmyeon was sure his decision would be different if he had no emotions. At least the painkillers were keeping the physical pain lower while he stood behind the podium. Nobody, except Tao, knew what Junmyeon was about to do. Minseok thought he would be giving a speech in commemoration of their nation adopting the System all those decades ago, something that came quite well now that people were still debating whether the System took the wrong choices sometimes or not. Junmyeon would sweep in and make his official standpoint, say that despite bad outcomes at times, it was still the core of their modern society. His grandfather, his dad’s father, who had been his number one supporter during his political campaign was also there to witness the speech. The old man had always been there to see the big moments.

Then, the director gave him the signal. Everyone on the set looked expectantly at him.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of this wonderful nation,” he said with his most formal voice, “I’m Kim Junmyeon.”

Until he could calm down his nerves, Junmyeon continued rambling the introduction Minseok had given him to say. Controlling his emotions was still a challenge for him. But in his mind, an inner voice kept telling ‘say it now, say it now.’ When it was time to say the second point, Junmyeon took his glass of water and gulped it in one go. This was it. He wouldn’t prolong it anymore.

“Actually, this not what I wanted to say,” Junmyeon said. Minseok shouted in his earpiece to keep quiet and told the cameraman something. “No, don’t cut me off from the air,” Junmyeon ordered. Unsure, the cameraman listened to him and Junmyeon set his gaze on the camera again.

“All my life I’ve believed the System is efficient and facilitates life for all us. But at the end of the day, it’s just a machine, a machine with flaws that sometimes take the wrong choices.”

The people on the set were looking at him in amazement. Minseok kept shaking his head and motioning with his arms to stop. He avoided looking at his grandfather.

“I accepted this role because I thought that was what I was ought to do because the System dictated it. And I did everything I could to make sure I would be good at it, that I won because I thought that was my duty as a candidate. But everything you’ve seen so far is just a fabrication. A character made by my political assessors. All thoroughly enacted so you would like me, and I earned your votes. I mean, I didn’t even like Yixing. I lied to him and pretended to do it until he found out the truth and left.”

Junmyeon laughed. It was a laugh that came out well because just thinking about a bad joke could genuinely make him giggle. “I took you all by fools! The truth is I never wanted any of this. I never really cared about any of this or you. And I truly hate the idea of becoming the next leader of this silly, awful nation.”

Loud gasps could be heard in the set, people were running here and there, talking on the phone, taking pictures, mumbling to each other. Minseok no longer said anything or motioned him to stop.

“With that said, I, Kim Junmyeon, officially retire myself as a candidate for the next elections,” Junmyeon concluded his impromptu departure speech. He didn’t even say goodbye or thank you but took off his microphone and ear-piece before leaving the podium.

The moment he set foot backstage his grandfather came to stand in front of him. Junmyeon lifted his gaze and saw the disappointment, anger, and frustration in the older man’s face. “Grandpa, I-” he said but didn’t manage to say I’m sorry because his grandfather’s hand had harshly landed on his cheek, the smack making everyone turn silent immediately. His cheek stung, and it was probably red. But the slap had also made Junmyeon cry. Having no control over what he felt was truly bothersome.

“You’re not my grandson,” his grandfather said before leaving the set angrily, probably to go out and deal with the upcoming scandal and say that Kim Industries didn’t stand behind Kim Junmyeon and his dumb decisions.

The next person who came to talk to him was Minseok. He didn’t slap him on the face, however, although Junmyeon suspected he wanted to.

“How could you?” Minseok said and struggled to breathe. “You just threw away everything we’ve worked so hard for. Do you have any idea how many sleepless nights we went through to put you here! On top! And now you... You- Ugh!”

“I’m sorry, Minseok,” Junmyeon said. It felt that was a word he’ll have to say his whole life.

“You’re a ing selfish , Kim Junmyeon. Thank you for wasting my time all these years!” And that was the last Minseok said before stomping out of the set.

Nobody approached him after that. People continued gazing at him while whispering and murmuring who knew what. Junmyeon brushed away the tears from the corner of his eyes while he too walked away. Down in the parking lot of the television broadcasting company that sponsored Junmyeon campaign, or used to, Tao was waiting for him.

“That was very brave of you,” Tao said.

“Just drive already.” Junmyeon was in no mood to talk about it right now.

They made their way to see the Byun’s again. Those people were probably gloating in victory right now. Taehyuk had practically won the elections unless Sehun stepped up his game, but Junmyeon doubted he would. It was clear Sehun didn’t want the task either, and that was why he mostly kept his campaign low. The race had always been between Junmyeon and Taehyuk, until now.

At least Junmyeon knew one person would benefit from this. He still felt this was the right choice and didn’t regret what he had said. The next step would be to take Yixing out of this country. For that, he had told Tao that he had prepared his private jet for Yixing to use. Junmyeon said that after meeting with the Byun’s and finding out where Yixing was, Tao would drive Yixing to the airport and make sure he left, while Junmyeon went back home. With what had happened, Junmyeon doubted Yixing would be glad to see him there. Besides, Yixing had explicitly said he didn’t want to see him anymore, and Junmyeon would respect that.

Just like Junmyeon had expected, Mr. Byun was thrilled when they walked into the study room. The old man sat behind a wooden desk while Taehyuk stood next to him. Once the butler left, they began talking.

“Young Kim, welcome back. Do you want anything?”

“I did my part. Now’s your turn,” Junmyeon said. He wasn’t here to chit-chat.

“Yes, that was quite the performance you gave us,” Mr. Byun said and laughed. “We were just observing Taehyuk’s numbers in real time, and they’ve almost doubled.”

Junmyeon squeezed his hands into fists. The anger was starting to come back. “Just tell us where Yixing is.”

Mr. Byun grabbed his cup of coffee and took a sip. The man was truly the expert at driving Junmyeon insane.

“You might have fulfilled your part, young Kim, and I admire your naiveté and blind trust. But you really couldn’t have expected I’ll go against the System, could you?”

“What?” he asked.

“As a responsible citizen of this country and brother of a former crime prevention enforcer, I cannot let this happen. An unreadable is a hazard not only for us here but for anyone in the outside world too.”  

Tao gasped while he took out his mini tablet and desperately tapped the screen.

“What the hell have you done?” Junmyeon asked although he already suspected the answer.

“What any responsible person would have done, what you two should have done long ago.”

“Oh, my god,” Tao said. Junmyeon turned sideways to see what Tao was gasping at. Tao showed him the screen. It was a record of Yixing at the Security Department. Zhang Yixing. Crime coefficient: 299. High-level treat captured.

“You son of a !” Junmyeon cursed and was ready to jump across the desk and maybe surround his fingers against the grinning man’s neck. But Tao had held him at the last minute and hindered him from moving any closer.

“I’ll kill you! You tricked us! I’m gonna make you pay for it!” Junmyeon continued shouting threats all over the place, screaming in anger and feeling how the blood pumped through his veins. With this amount of wrath in his body, one of those threats might even come true.

“Junmyeon! Your Emotion Watch!” Tao said while he proceeded to drag them out of the room, “Calm down! Can’t you see this is what he wants?”

Sure enough, when he cast a glance at his wrist, the watch was shining yellow. Thankfully, they were soon out in the hallway, and Junmyeon stopped seeing that man’s gloating face in triumph.

“He turned him in. He ing turned him in!” Junmyeon said while pulling his hair.

How stupid had he been? Junmyeon shouldn’t have trusted this man. Of course, they wouldn’t stay true to their words. What the hell had he done? Why had he been so stupid?

Again, this was all his fault.