VII. Information and secrets 

  "Well, this is rather surprising. Two Gemini meetings in the span of one week. The way this organization operated before, you would've thought we hated each other so much we purposely went out of our way to avoid one another." 

    And indeed, as Minwoo had pointed out, the entirety of Gemini was once more assembled for dinner just days after its first meeting. There had been nearly an hour of tense silence before the Unseelie broke it, tired of all the members sitting there and playing with their cutlery, determined to not meet each others' eyes.

   "I honestly wouldn't be surprised if that was the case," Jaebin said mildly, to everyone's surprise. He looked up at the numerous pair of eyes on him, and snapped, quite suddenly, "What? You know that's true." 

   "Yes, but you don't need to talk about it," Minkyung returned, stabbing her food rather savagely. "No one needs to know." 

    The warlock thought she heard someone choke into their drink, though she wasn't sure. Promptly ignoring yet another bout of awkward silence that followed her outburst, she found her mind wandering back to her makeshift lab back in her room, where another potion for Celeste was brewing away; anything to do would be better than sitting there and pretending to be friendly with her teammates. 

       "No one asked for your opinion either." Quiet, but obviously heard over the clatter of cutlery. Minkyung snapped her head in the direction of where Celeste was sat, who was taking a sip of her water. "Anyways, if you'd really want to know, I was the one who called this meeting, not Chess or His Majesty the King." 

      There was a pause in conversation as the dinner plates were whisked away, allowing dessert to be served. Minwoo observed it for a while before picking up his spoon; the raspberry jam oozing from the white panna cotta resembled blood too much for his liking, though he wouldn't complain. 

      "The reason I gathered you here is to tell you about the items that we have to stop from falling into Wonderland's hands," Celeste began speaking again, pushing her now empty plate forward. "Because it seems that aside from Jaebin and Minwoo, everyone else wasn't informed."

    "What gives you the opinion that you are most suited to give this presentation?" Minkyung raised her voice, louder than she needed to be; she cleared slightly at that. 

     "Because, girl, I happen to be in charge of Intelligence in this organization, in case you haven't noticed," The mermaid returned sarcastically. "And Chess is indisposed tonight. Now, are there any other questions?" 

    Silence. A holo-screen then flickered to life in the middle of the table, while six others appeared in front of the other members, each showing the same thing; a bronze item strongly resembling a mosquito coil, except this one had a line from the end stretching to the other side. "First, the Great Glyph of the Sidhe. I'm sure some of you would know about this - " And here she directed her sentence at Seoah, who nodded. "This is the Seelie's object. It - " 

     "Wait a minute," Minkyung interrupted. "What do you mean, the 'Seelie's object?" 

  "The six items we are talking about are representations of the six different tribes of Underworlders. The person who gathered all of them would be granted power - unlimited amounts of it. That's why we have to stop them from falling into the weasel Carroll's hands," Minwoo supplied, knocking back his red wine. "Otherwise god knows what he'll do with it." 

     "And before you ask, we aren't actually retrieving them. We're protecting and stopping them from falling into the enemies' hands, right, my King?" Jaebin asked, with a note of mockery placed on the last word. 

      There was another period of silence as six pairs of eyes swivelled to Sungjong, who seemed to be in deep thought, lacing his fingers at the question. "No. We're retrieving them. They wouldn't be safe otherwise.”

     “Hmph.” Minkyung sat back, a grunt signalling her acknowledgement, despite the fact that it was displeased. Celeste pointedly ignored her, before continuing her presentation. “It would likely be located in the Seelie’s court, which - ”

     “Actually.” For the third time in the evening, the mermaid was interrupted, and she had to fight the urge to throw the remote at the person, who happened to be Minwoo, sprawled on his chair with leather loafers planted on the pristine tablecloth. Celeste swore she could hear Seoah flinch next to her. “Can we just get onto the next part of why we’re here tonight?” A glare was sent his way, which was recieved with a shrug. “I’m bored. Everyone’s bored. You should tell us something we don’t know.” He gesticulated at the screen wildly. “Most of us have the brains to figure that out.”

     “Fine,” Celeste snapped back, promptly switching the display to something else. “I’ll brief you all on the members of Wonderland then.” Faces then appeared on the holo-screen, all mugshots of the seven members of the organisation they were to fight against. "Leader; Bang Yongguk. A human -- "

    "I thought they were extinct in CARDS," Minwoo mumbled as he took another swing from his glass. No one replied, all now fixated on the holo-scren.

     "A bartender and a student by day, nothing really special about his workplace. He's a Fighter, which was somewhat surprising, especially with two Generals in the same team." You would've thought Carroll would want a strong leader in charge of his puppets, Celeste eyed the man's side profile carefully, before continuing. "According to our source, he's skilled with daggers, sharp knives, but they weren't sure. No one had seen him in training before; he was practically a nobody until Carroll elevated him to this position of power." 

   "Clever, then." Minwoo supplied. "If they found the flashiest guy to be the leader, their cover would've been bust by now." 

   "Adding on to that," Jaebin leaned forward. "If he's average, you can be sure no one would single him out as the leader. People normally go for the most imposing guy out of the team." 

   "Well, thank goodness for our source, then. Otherwise, we might've done exactly that." The mermaid then flicked to the next slide. "Tactician; Alexander Wang. Another human." 

   "No." Her gaze landed on Minkyung, who sat up taller. "He's not. I've seen him around in the underground circles. He's a warlock." 

    "Minkyung, are you sure -- " 

   "I've seen this guy do magic." She said carefully, as if weighing her words, and thinking whether or not to say anymore. "He's a powerful one. Not to mention he does medicine-related stuff too." There was another pause. "He's good." 

   "That's...good to know." Celeste thought she heard the warlock snorting. "In that case, we can move on, since I practically had nothing on him. Moving on, the ace, who's part Seelie. His name is Jung Daehyun, currently an exchange student at Tsinghua University in Beijing." A glance at her audience showed Jaebin staring intensely at the young man, with almost...a sense of longing at her words? She remembered briefly that he had lived in China, but that was about it. "No one's sure what his weapon is, nor what his powers are. He is known to be friendlier and kinder than the other members of the team." The tactician paused. "Perhaps this would serve as his weakness." 

   "That's easy then," Minwoo drawled. The table had already been cleared of any food, and the white tablecloth was whisked away to reveal the mahogany underneath, yet somehow he had a bowl full of popcorn in his hands, and was tossing one at a time into his mouth. "We send Seoah to him, and strike when his guard is down. Simple." 

   In the corner of her eye, Celeste saw Jaebin rising out of his seat, likely out of anger, and was about to retort back when Minkyung beat her to it. "Or, we could send you instead, and talk his ears off, then strike. How about that?" 

   "Enough." Sungjong's irritated voice cut through the banter, and instantly the table fell silent. The tactician raised an eyebrow at him; it was rare that he ever showed up at their discussions, and even rarer he opened his mouth, but the elf's eyes betrayed nothing. "Continue, Celeste." 

   Thus she ran through the next members of the team, though there wasn't much information to offer; one of the stronger fighters was a General by the name of Helena Romanova, who was a human and worked as a government agent. The youngest of the team was a wolf, originally stationed at the Canadian branch of the organisation, and seemed to be the weakest, given that he only joined half a year ago.

   "Then we have our magician ace. Shin Hyunwook, another student at Tsinghua University. He's half-Unseelie, and his abilities supposedly rivals that of a General. Yet he somehow remains a player." 

   "Shin," Jaebin mused, leaning forward with his fingers laced underneath his chin. "Not a very common surname, is it?" 

   "No." For once, Minkyung was agreeing, and her forehead creased slightly. "I wonder..." 

   As if on cue, the two of them turned towards Jineul sitting at the head of the table, just to the right of Sungjong, who was sharpening his nails with a pocket knife, with his leg on the other knee. When he was aware that the room was silent, he looked up, gaze reflecting his boredom that infused his tone. "Does someone have a question?" 

   "We're just thinking," The warlock continued, again carefully articulating her words, this time for good reason. Jineul was known to run his battleaxe into someone if they so much as looked at him wrong, and no one in Gemini was eager to fall by their Queen's hand. They would much rather be killed in battle, for at least it would be an honourable death. "That you and this Seelie - " 

   "Unseelie," Celeste corrected, to which Minkyung rolled her eyes at before speaking again. 

   " - boy share the same surname - " 

   "Yes, I noticed. And?" 

   "And that you might be possibly...related." At the question, Jineul looked at his knife, as if considering whose insides he would like to gut first, before flipping it shut, and placing it on the table. The room was completely silent now, except broken by intervals of Minwoo's popcorn eating and a cat purring; likely Jineul's pet which never left his side. 

   "Yes, we are related." There was no sense of love in that sentence. He might as well have been talking about the weather. Sungjong started forward, as if he wanted to prevent Jineul from carrying on, but the other boy waved him aside carelessly. "He's my younger cousin." 

   Younger cousin. Celeste was momentarily stunned, although she recovered from her shock. She could see a sense of surprise on the other members' faces as well, because despite their pledge to the cause, they had always assumed that their families would be safe from the chaos they themselves undertake. Some might've even joined for fear of their families' safety; she didn't know for this batch, but certainly some had done so in the past.

   Moreover, Gemini was an organisation created to keep Underworlders safe, at least in the beginning. Certainly some Underworlders had turned traitor and joined CARDS, though some were spies. There were also others who believed that they would be able to change CARDS' ideals and attitude, though so far none had succeeded. In any case, the idea of 'family' ran strongly amongst the Underworlder community. To face one's family member in combat...Celeste wasn't sure how she was to feel about that. Especially when they were a younger member, as well. Underworlder nature was to protect, and nurture. Clearly Jineul's blank expression showed that he did not even think about such. 

   "Jineul," Jaebin was one of the few to have recovered from the shock, and she could see he had adopted the careful way of speaking Minkyung had used earlier. "Are you sure, then? We would be meeting your cousin in combat - " 

   "He means nothing to me. We aren't even of the same species."

   "Well, yes, but - " 

   "That's enough." Sungjong rose from the table. "The night is late, and we need rest before the morning dawns." He then turned towards Celeste, and she thought she saw a softening in his eyes. "Thank you for your hard work. I would assume that everyone is duly informed, now, yes? Then we shall issue missions to retrieve the items soon. Time is tight, and there is word that CARDS is already on their way. Chess would be back to tell you more, but for now I think we have heard enough. I bid you goodnight." He nodded at everyone present, and swept out of the dining room with Jineul following immediately. 

   The meeting was adjourned. 

   After the two had left the room, Jaebin immediately felt the tension ease from his shoulders, and promptly collapse onto his chair. To his right, Seoah stared at him, concerned, but a smile relieved her worries. The only person who was still frozen, was Celeste. 

   "I've never seen Sungjong like this," He thought he could hear her murmurings, though he had to strain his ear. "He rarely ends a meeting before it was due to end." 

   "Well, then it probably had something to do with that Hyunwook guy, no?" Minwoo had finished his popcorn and was back to his stash of cigarettes; the tobacco soon invaded the air, which Minkyung sniffed at. "If he was that affected, maybe Our Majesty the Queen was concerned after all." 

   "You know that's not true, Minwoo." Celeste heaved a sigh, and sat. For once, she looked older than she was. "I wonder..." 

   "Wait." Minkyung snapped her fingers, as if calling their attention. "That puppet group of Carroll's, didn't it have seven members? We only gone through six." 

    "Ah." Suddenly Jaebin looked anxious, though the warlock didn't understand why. "Well, you see - " 

    "The seventh member is a healer. A vampire who somehow decided to follow the path of healing rather than terrorizing people." Normally, Jaebin would've snapped at Celeste for saying that, but for once, the mermaid seemed exhausted. "She isn't that important." The woman met Minkyung's gaze as she spoke. "That's why we didn't mention her." 

    "Not important? But tactically speaking - " 

   Celeste and Jaebin exchanged a glance, and Minkyung could see some form of silent communication happen then. Then the mermaid promptly stood. “I have an interview tomorrow at 11am,” She announced, resuming some of her former haughtiness. “I need to sleep. Goodnight.” And with that, she too, walked out of the room. 

   Once the door shut behind the tactician, Minkyung directed her glare at the remaining occupants of the room, and out of them all, only Seoah had the decency to not meet her gaze. Jaebin managed to look sheepish, though it resembled a grimace more in her opinion. Minwoo, on the other hand, was puffing away without a care in the world. 

   ”You guys are hiding something from me,” She decided, matter-of-factly. It wasn’t a question, nor was it a deduction; Minkyung just knew.

   And Minkyung hated it when people hide things from her.  

   At that, Seoah flinched slightly, as if she had slapped her. Minkyung would never do that, of course, but she supposed her tone was kind of frightening. Just before she could say something - an apology, maybe? - Jaebin stepped in. 

    “Minkyung,” The man tried, but she didn’t want to hear it. Instead, she stood, and turned towards Minwoo, who she knew would be relatively more honest. “Well?” She prompted. 

    “You see, that’s why people don’t tell you things, Minkyung.” Minwoo sighed, and let out another smoky exhale, which the healer waved impatiently at again. “You threaten them if you do; you threaten them if you don’t. And besides, sometimes there are some things you’re better off not knowing.”  

   She glared at him as he said it, but he barely noticed. At the corner of her eye, she could see Jaebin trying to interfere again, and she sighed in irritation. “Fine. If no one wants to tell me anything, I’ll just find out myself. Just a warning though, in case I’m in a bad mood next time.” Minkyung leaned close to Minwoo, trying not to be too revolted from the tobacco smoke. “Try not to piss off your healer, who also happens to be your second-in-command. In case she hands you a prescription of poison rather than medicine next time you’re on the verge of death.” Throwing in a smile for good measure, she, too, walked out of the room, leaving the three behind, still in their seats. 

   ”You...you don’t think she’d do it, would she?” Seoah broke the silence, asking nervously.  

   ”Nah,” Minwoo waved his smoke cloud around dismissively. “But she’s right. A healer can be a vital link in the chain. I guess I’ll keep that in mind. Still...” He looked off in the distance, as if thinking about something.  

    “Never mind.” The boy stood, then stretched, yawning like a cat. “I guess I should take a leaf out of Celeste’s book. See you in the morning, then.”  

So after four longass months that’s probably four decades’ worth I finally updated. Yeap :D

Anyways I guess this is another filler chapter?? Because it does feel like I’m just dispensing information so :/ but this would probably lead to something remotely exciting  

Hope y’all are staying safe and relatively sane in where you are! I probably wouldn’t be able to update soon though, because my school’s still doing internal exams and someone has to get her in order and study (yikes) so don’t look forward to anything. Again, hope y’all are well :)

   (Also yes again someone doesn’t know how to name chapters)