A/N: soooo sorry for the delay and the length. It's about 40 ish pages but I tried to keep the talking to the minimal. (I failed) Do try to read it till the end. I realize that the N-CITY series is beginning to have double plots and not just romance in them anymore and I hope that's okay. Without further ado-- Enjoy!

Lately
When life is moving way too fast for me
I've been taking off my mask to see
That we're living in a masterpiece

We built houses on top of all the hills and mountains
But I'm not scared to fall from here
When I have your hand in mine

- Casualties, Ethan Dufault

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We were gathered in the office. All of us deciding what to do next. We had overlooked one very important thing—Lee Know was a software developer. Sure, he could make apps and we could figure it out as we went along, but he was still lacking.

Despite his insistence that “I can learn, Boss! Give me a day!”, we knew perfectly well that it would be better to have an expert. The layout was different on different devices. What if the format was different on a different-sized phone?

Oh, this was why it is hard starting from zero. We had to configure a lot of things.

Winwin already looked defeated but he didn’t seem to want to say anything, the male deep in thought when Lee Know spoke up.

“Besides, I think we need to focus on IOS. I know people in Korea use Samsung, but there has been an increase of iPhone users the past year. I know a bit about developing on Android, it should be easy finding an Android certificate for that but IOS…”

“How different is the system?” Han Jisung asked Lee Know rubbing his head. “I mean, I can read up it…”

“Jisung, you specialize in Angular. There is simply no reason to switch to app development.” Winwin shook his head. “I can develop the app on IOS. I’ve done it before. The question is if we can get it done on time. We have six days left.”

Winwin chewed on his bottom lip. “Felix, just focus on the graphics. Changbin, please confirm the mock-ups you have done and see if there should be any changes. I also want the UX flow of different scenarios when a user goes through different journeys on the app.”

“The flows that should be talked touched on is: When a user buys a hint. When a user accidentally goes to a different area, etcetera. We can sit down and list all the possible application journeys so you can work on it,” I offered to Changbin, the male shaking his head and telling me that he beat us to it.

“I’ve been in the industry for quite some time,” he said and I noticed that he glanced back to his phone and continued texting. “I already finished all possible flows last night. You can run over it. Don’t worry about the UX/UI tasks.”

Winwin looked impressed, Changbin shifting on his seat, his eyes not leaving the front of the screen when Felix spoke up.

“Or we can always hire an IOS developer,” Felix said and I saw Winwin frown. I had an inkling when Felix said that, my eyes going to the younger male who had his fingers covering his phone. “It’s always good to have someone well-versed in the area. It’ll save us so much time—”

“Money, Felix. We don’t have the money.” Winwin sighed but Felix shook his head.

“Well, if it’s a friend, he might be able to do it for us and we can always pay him later. Why not take a leap of faith, right?” Felix asked, smiling at all of us. “You all know him. We can just shoot him a call and see if he’ll be able to help.”

“We do need all the help we can get,” I agreed, already knowing who Felix had in mind. With that, Felix connected his phone to the screen and began to call an old friend: Chris Bang.

Ah, Chris Bang. We had kept in contact for the past few years. I know he had moved back to Australia to stay with his parents and he also had taken Computer Science in university. He loved it. He had contacted me just not long ago with a question and then he disappeared once again.

He answered the call and we could see that the room was pitch black, Chris Bang in his hoodie. He grunted when he saw all of us.

“Well, well, well. What a surprise,” Chris mumbled. “What time is it?”

“Your time or my time?” Felix asked, squinting at his phone.

“Whatever time,” Chris yawned. “I hadn’t opened the curtains for a very long time. I have lost track of what day, what month, and what year it is.”

“Chris,” I greeted and Chris frowned at the phone. “Chris, how long has it been?”

“Beats me. Is that Mercy? Felix, why are you with Mercy?”

“She’s working with us, now.” Felix smiled and Chris cleared his throat. He looked like he was going through an existential crisis, the male leaning back against his gaming chair. “We need your help.”

“Jeez. I need help, too. A lot of help,” Chris emphasized. “The only thing I’ve been doing is working on this IOS game with two other colleagues.” He popped his lips. “My neighbor across the street and a Korean kid with great ideas.”

“What’s the great idea, Chris?” Winwin asked from where he was at. I saw Lee Know smack Changbin on the arm to stop texting, our UX-UI designer scowling.

“Bangchan.” Chris lifted up another phone into the air to show us the game. “Bangchan. Korean for side dishes. In the game, you sort the side dishes. It’s a memory game. Simple like flappy bird. Really want it to become worldwide but that ain’t working out.”

“Why suddenly an IOS high score game?” Winwin asked, Chris, pointing at the camera suddenly. It took us all a while to realize that he was pointing at me, my co-workers turning to stare at me.

“I asked Mercy for advice.” He then shrugged.

“To be fair, Chris, I did tell you that it might not work out. The IOS market is filled with high-score games,” I said back and he grunted again.

“There were three downloads today,” Chris said, dully. “Three. Oh… Now, four!”

Felix lifted up his phone to show that he had downloaded ‘Bangchan’. Chris glowered at the camera when he saw that it was his friend. He then proceeded to tell us that people got bored of high score games very easily and he was out of his mind trying to find a way to put it out on the market.

“But what was it you needed help with again?” Chris asked, Winwin leaning forward to tell him. It didn’t take much. “So, you’re telling me that you want me to go to Korea to make an AR game through IOS? You do know that I have to fly to Korea for that, right?”

We nodded and he frowned.

“Okay.”

“Okay?” the whole room echoed.

“Okay. I’m booking my ticket,” he said to us casually as we could see him walk to the window. “Ah, for the first time, I am about to see the sunlight.” Sunlight hit his face and he sighed. “What do I tell my colleagues?”

“I thought you said that your colleague is just your neighbor and some weird Korean kid down the street?”

“Yeah,” Chris answered, blinking. “I’m telling him…. Hey, Craig!”

It took a while for us to register that Chris was actually talking to someone in his room, the camera panning to a young bald man with his glasses sitting on his nose.

“Craig, I’m going to Korea,” Chris said and Craig looked at the phone to give a thumbs up before going back to typing something on the computer in front of him.

“Shoot for your dreams, Chan.”

“Yeah, well. If you guys ever need an Android developer, we got Craig here,” Chris said, the camera shaking. “Don’t ask me why he’s bald. He’s bald by choice.”

“How have you been living, Chris?” Winwin asked suddenly. His eyebrows were furrowed and Chris scoffed at the question, the camera switching to his face. He scrunched his nose and told us that when he said neighbor, he meant he moved in with Craig because he was kicked out.

“Craig is the only reason why I’m alive. I’m a failed developer,” Chris grumbled, Lee Know’s jaw dropping down.

“Chris, dude. Get a grip on yourself!”

“Not everyone is working for a company like you, Lee Know,” Chris snapped, Winwin correcting him almost immediately.

“Start-up, Chris. We’re a start-up.”

“Well, not everyone owns a start-up like you, Sicheng.” Chris rolled his eyes. “I’ll go pack my stuff and head over. See you in a few days and—why did someone delete Bangchan? Who did that?”

Felix lifted his phone up, his face bright red. “I had no space on my phone. Besides, I beat the high score.”

With a scowl, Chris hung up the phone, leaving us expecting his presence.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“You’re telling me that Chris and Craig are coming from Australia?” Mercy asked Sicheng, the male telling her that he just spoke to Chris. Turned out that Craig, his neighbor, was from a wealthy family. He was developing for just s and giggles and decided to come for the ride. “How convenient. When are we expecting them?”

“Two days,” Sicheng said, his hands on his hips as he paced back and forth in front of the board. IOS and Android, check. The only problem was the time limit before the investors meeting. All they needed was a pitch and he could work on that, but he wanted to make sure they got as much as they could.

He could hear the racket outside of his office, Sicheng glancing at Mercy who was staring at her clipboard.

“We need to go check on the list of locations and confirm them,” Mercy told him, Sicheng pushing the sleeves up his arms when he saw her put the clipboard down. She stepped forward, her hands going to his sleeves, her fingers rolling it up for him as she continued to talk. “Once we confirm the locations, we can put it in the business plan that these are the places we had chosen.”

Her fingers brushed against his skin, Mercy making sure they wouldn’t roll down. She paused and Sicheng was about to step away when he realized she was waiting for him to lift his other arm so Sicheng did just that, Mercy moving to his left arm.

“We take it step by step. Do you have any idea what you’re going to tell them?” she asked, looking up. Sicheng found himself staring straight into her eyes, his own searching hers. His train of thought wasn’t on the game but on how she was there, right in front of him, trying to make everything work.

He felt her fingers tighten around the fabric that was bunched up on his forearm and he was sure he saw her pupils quiver. He was sure he heard her give in a sharp inhale, Sicheng’s hand reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear gently.

“Do you?” he asked softly. His question made no sense. Mercy’s eyes fluttering when the door opened and Changbin walked in, Mercy jumping backward. Sicheng cleared his throat, a hand going to loosen his collar. Changbin was still texting, the male stopping a foot away, his fingers moving over the phone when he looked up.

“Oh. So, where are we going?” he asked and Mercy snapped her fingers. It seemed like she had already told the others what they had to do the rest of the day. Locations, locations. They had to scout out locations. Han Jisung and Felix were paired. Lee Know would stay and wait for Cupid to get some more development done.

Changbin trailed behind both Sicheng and Mercy and when Sicheng started the car, he expected Mercy to get into the passenger’s seat—but she didn’t. She had opted for the back, Changbin taking the front. Sicheng glanced at the rearview mirror to see her chewing on her bottom lip as she told him the first location.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It took more than a few minutes to get my breathing back in place. I was as affected by Winwin as he was with me and I knew it. It was a different adventure altogether and was I for it? Definitely. Just not now. I knew enough about relationships and they were hard work.

Relationships needed time for it to blossom and if it happened, it would. I, for one, continued to see a small change in Winwin. He no longer looked away when I looked into his eyes. He no longer looked unsure of what to do. He was bolder, a bit braver than he was before.

His gaze met mine and I smiled at him, Winwin smiling back before he went back to driving. I scooted forward, Changbin reaching to turn on the radio when he grunted at the choice of music for that particular channel. I saw that he was chatting with someone.

“Ugh, hate this song,” Changbin complained and I chuckled. He was so aggressive all the time, but I noticed he was sending multiple hearts to someone. Changbin turned to see me and he must have realized that I saw what he was typing, the male scowling. “What? I’m talking to my girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?” I asked. The car skidded and Winwin had to brake the car for a bus that drove towards our lane. “You have a girlfriend?”

Even Winwin seemed surprised at the information, Changbin nodding. He showed me a profile photo of a girl dressed in a cosplay costume.

“Yeah. She’s my internet girlfriend and this is her face.”

“Have you ever met her?” Winwin asked and Changbin shook his head. “What if you’re being catfished?”

“To be fair, if that’s the case, I can always go to therapy. I have a free coupon for Jeno’s clinic,” he chuckled and I could see how his eyes lit up when the female sent something back. “I met her through Summer. Hacked into her game account one day and ended making friends with her friend. She refuses to meet, though.”

“Red flag, Changbin,” I told him and he went back to scowling.

“Oh, c’mon! She’s just shy. All weebs are.”

We reached the isolated area and I found myself frowning. The place looked creepy enough, that was good on its own. But it looked too dangerous.

Changbin took one look at the house and shook his head.

“No.”

“Changbin.”

“I agreed to come out but I did not agree to an isolated house with massive amounts of dust,” he told us, a hand reaching to change the song on the radio. “You guys go. I’ll guard the car.”

He snapped a picture of himself. “To send to the wifey.”

I sighed, exiting the car. Winwin got off, throwing the keys to Changbin and telling him to not drive the car anywhere else. The house was filled with dust and I coughed, Winwin telling me that it wouldn’t take long for us to scout it out.

We entered the place, the door creaking open when Winwin told me to be careful. A hand went to my elbow, Winwin pulling me to the side so I wouldn’t step on broken glass.

“Definitely too dangerous.” I scanned the room, moving to the side when something dropped on the floor and I squealed at the sudden movement. I crashed against Winwin, jumping over the broken frame on the ground when Winwin laughed. “.”

Me cursing must have taken him by surprise, Winwin suddenly doubling over and chuckling. I apologized for the language, shaking my head.

“I just hate lizards. They look like they have no eyelids,” I told him, shuddering softly when I felt his hand pat my head. I saw his eyes twinkle, Winwin smiling at me. “Sorry.”

“I didn’t know you were scared of lizards. You seemed pretty okay the two times in the storage room,” Winwin said, offering me his hand. I gingerly took it, slipping my hand into his as he guided me deeper into the house to go to the backyard.

“It’s because I didn’t see them. It was pretty dark. I’m okay as long as they don’t randomly jump and appear out of nowhere,” I told him, Winwin stepping over a toppled vase. He waited patiently as I stepped it. “I’m guessing my future partner will have to end up cleaning the storage room a couple of times to make sure there aren’t lizards around.”

“Mhm,” Winwin hummed, turning to smile at me. “I’m not scared of lizards.”

“Kudos to you, Boss,” I muttered, following his trail.

“I think I’d make a pretty good future partner.”

It took a while for his words to settle and I looked up with surprise just to see that he was staring at the backyard. Did I hear that right? Did I imagine it? I tilted my head to the side, Winwin looking back towards me and motioning to the backyard when he asked me what I thought.

“No. Too dangerous,” I told him and he agreed. I still could not get his words out from my mind, Winwin whistling a tune. “Second location?”

“Sure,” he told me. “Careful.”

And just like that, I decided not to say anything.

Because if he really did say it, it was just a confirmation of everything I knew.

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They finally confirmed the locations and according to Han Jisung, these locations would be easier for them to handle. Coming back to the office, I saw that it was almost lunchtime. Winwin had retreated back to his office, our CEO saying that he would not draft up a business plan. I sat by the reception when a familiar face showed up, Yangyang walking through the door with his usual black attire and a backpack.

“Hello,” he greeted me and I smiled at him. “Hi, Mercy.”

“Hello, Yangyang. What do you have there?” He was struggling to take something out of his bag, Yangyang placing a Tupperware of food on the desk. “Food?”

“For Sicheng-ge,” he told me before he sniffed it. Yangyang then leaned forward. “I haven’t been here for a while but I heard the news. Make sure Sicheng-ge eats the bokchoy, okay? Kun-ge is very sensitive about his bokchoy.”

I wondered why he said it like it was a secret, Yangyang beaming at me before he fiddled with the camera that was in his bag. I promised him I’d give it to Winwin when I decided to ask him a question.

“Yangyang…” I began and he froze, looking like he was scared of what I was about to say. “Yangyang, what are you?”

“Eh…” He tensed up before coming closer. “I’m a freelancer but don’t tell Kun-ge that.”

“I won’t. What kind of freelancer?”

“Photography?” His voice rose as if it was a question. “Sometimes videos… But can I tell you a secret?”

I nodded, Yangyang leaning forward to whisper softly.

“I’m going to be famous one day.”

I smiled when Yangyang said that.

“Can I tell you a secret?” I asked him, Yangyang nodding eagerly. “I can see it.”

“Really?” he asked, beaming at me. “You really think so?”

I nodded, watching as Yangyang happily chattered on about how he had so many plans for the far future.

I realized that I loved watching people light up when they talked about the things they loved.

But it wouldn’t take long for me to realize that this did not apply to everyone.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[Hello Mr. Failed Developer]

Chris and Craig arriving took the weight off our shoulders but we were still grinding to the best of our abilities. On this particular day, I had fallen asleep on the desk, my head down on the table when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I stirred to see Winwin smiling down at me, the male tucking a hair behind my ear gently when I felt something move.

I shot up, Winwin telling me it was okay. My hand reached up and I saw that he had tied my hair back. Winwin was wearing a casual T-Shirt today and he had a cap on. It looked different to the eyes but I found myself thinking that he looked good like this.

“How is everyone?” I asked sleepily, Winwin telling me that Bangchan had begun to develop the IOS version and it was going smoothly.

“Just here to tell you that I’ll be in my office. If anyone needs me, tell them to wait a bit.”

I nodded, telling him that I had noted it. I stretched and saw that Winwin was holding a big suitcase. I sighed. He must have already decided that he would be staying in the office and sleeping there, Winwin dragging the huge- bag after him. I cleared my throat to notice that it was dry, grabbing the water bottle to take a sip when the doors of the office opened and walked in Doctor Kun.

Like all the other times he had come, Kun did not come empty-handed. He smiled and pushed the Tupperware towards me. I glanced down at it, Kun tightening the front of his suit.

“Morning,” he greeted and I smiled at him, standing up halfway when he told me it was okay. “Has he been eating? I recall sending Yangyang over the other day.”

“Yesterday,” I said before frowning. “I gave it to him but I have no idea—”

Kun’s expression changed so I held my tongue and changed my words.

“I have no idea what time he ate it, but he did.” I smiled and Kun’s face lit up at the information as if he couldn’t believe it.

“He ate the bokchoy?” he asked incredulously and I nodded, Kun, beaming at me and telling me I did such a great job. “Good job, Mercy. You’re amazing. Well, I have an early seminar at the hospital so I won’t have time to babysit him. Just make sure he eats well.”

“Will do,” I told him, grabbing the Tupperware and giving him a thumbs up. He flashed me a smile and I stood up. I passed the boys who were practically dozing off. Lee Know saw me and he smiled. “How’s everything?”

“Exhausting. But don’t tell Boss that,” he told me, motioning to the screen. Summer’s eyes were slowly blinking and I felt sorry for the female, her tiny hands gripping the iPad pen. I called her name and I saw her jolt up.

“I’m awake!” she exclaimed, staring sleepily into the camera when I told her to go to sleep. “Okay.”

And with that, she plopped down onto her desk and began to snooze.

“Get some sleep if it’s too tiring,” I told Lee Know who gave me a thumbs up. I headed over to Winwin’s office, the male looking up. He had removed his cap and I smiled. He had bags under his eyes and I saw that his luggage was wide open. “Are you moving into the office?”

He chuckled. “At this point, it is home. What’s up?”

“Bokchoy,” I told him, lifting up the Tupperware. He made a face and I placed it in front of him. He ruffled the front of his hair. “How’s the business plan going?”

“Meh,” he began, shaking his head. “I mean, I got most of it but I don’t even know if they’ll like the fact that we changed the whole concept of it. Chris was telling me the other day that we won’t be able to finish the demo in time but I’m taking the risk of just presenting to them the idea.”

I nodded, listening to him. He opened the Tupperware, mixing the food slowly as if he was deep in thought.

“Do you want to see the business plan?” he asked suddenly and I blinked. He looked up at me with such hopeful eyes that I nodded. I had always thought that I wouldn’t be any help in planning so I never pushed to see what he was working on.

I ended up sitting beside him after he had dragged over a chair and I squinted at the screen. It was a full business plan, alright. A five-month timeline with bullet points of what the gist of the game was. He spoke about the possibility of seasons and how we could utilize small businesses. Winwin’s hands were moving in front of him and I noticed that his fingers were trembling.

I knew he made a lot of hand movements and I couldn’t help but grab them, squeezing his fingers softly just to feel them still as Winwin’s voice stopped talking. When I realized that I must have disturbed his train of thought, I snatched my hand back just to feel his fingers catch mine.

He did not stutter, Winwin continuing to talk about the plan with my hand in his.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Boss!” Cupid called out as she stuck her head into the office. Her eyes fell onto Mercy and him, Sicheng catching the sudden wink from their very colorfully dressed fashion coordinator. Mercy didn’t seem to notice it, the female reading what he had written on the screen. “I can come back later—”

“No, no. What’s up?” Sicheng asked, standing up as Mercy looked around as if she just came out from a trance. Talk about tunnel vision, Sicheng thought to himself. “Is there something wrong?”

“We’re going to the next scene but the clothes are still at the shop. Can you go and get it?” she asked casually, lifting her phone up on the air. “It’s this shop by Pledis Street. I would go but I think it’ll waste time since I’m trying to sew Felix’s outfit at the moment.”

“Oh,” Sicheng felt his pockets, a hand wrapping around his car keys. “Sure. I’ll go with Mercy.”

“Of course you will,” Cupid sang, beaming at him. “I’ll send you the receipt. You can just G the location.”

“Okay.” Sicheng nodded, reaching for his jacket as Mercy stood up.

“What’s a G?” Mercy asked suddenly and he chuckled, telling her that was the company’s way of saying ‘GPS’. “Oh, I see. Should have guessed.”

“Lee Know has this thing for shortening words so he won’t waste time in explaining things. Cupid too,” he told her as he slipped his arms into the jacket. He walked towards the desk where she stood, a hand going to her elbow to guide her gently to the door, Mercy stepping away from where she was at.

She opened her hand and he looked down at her open palm, not understanding what she wanted.

“To help you with the G,” she said. Sicheng chuckled, putting his phone into her hand, Mercy glancing at the screen. He lived life by efficiency and speed. She unlocked his phone, going into his messages to get the location Cupid sent to him.

“Aren’t you going to ask for permission before going through my phone?” he asked, both of them leaving the building.

“You have a personal phone,” she told him. She had seen him with his personal work phone—she also knew that he talked to Chenle under a different phone number. When they entered the car, she had finished putting up the location of the shop into Google Maps.

The car ride passed with comfortable silence. When they reached the shop, Sicheng could see Chinese words in front. Parking the car away from the entrance, both of them stepped down from the car just to enter the shop.

The bell on top of the door made a sound and Sicheng led the way, his eyes adjusting to the darkness of the shop when the voice of an old man greeted him from behind the counter.

“Hello,” the man called out and Sicheng jumped. He felt Mercy’s hand on his bicep, the female seemed to have grabbed him out of surprise. She blinked, Sicheng giving the man a half-bow. Sicheng showed the old man his screen, the photo of the invoice to show him what order they were there for.

He did not notice that Mercy had left his side, the female taking a look around the shop. Sicheng cleared his throat, finishing the conversation with the old man. He was the owner, that was what Sicheng got from their small exchange, and he ran the small fabric store with his wife.

Sicheng checked his watch before he looked behind him, Mercy staring at a mannequin. He saw her reach out to touch the material of the dress that was in front of her, her head tilting to the side as she took the fabric between her fingers and rubbed it softly.

“My wife’s dress,” the owner said, appearing out of nowhere. Sicheng jumped and looked towards his voice to see that he was holding a paper bag with what they were there for. He gave him a toothy smile. “Our love was forbidden. That was the dress she wore when I first met her. She was from China.”

Sicheng smiled at the mention of his birthplace, the male taking the paper bag from him.

“And where is she now?” Sicheng asked.

“Under the ground.”

Sicheng’s smile was wiped off his face, the old man breaking into a bigger smile.

“In the basement. She sews the dresses,” he said and Sicheng let out a breath. He laughed, Mercy walking towards him. She reached for the paper bag but Sicheng offered her his hand instead and in her state of confusion, she stared at his hand before taking it.

He could almost see the gears in her head turning and as much as he knew she wanted to address it; he hoped that their subtle hand-holding and his little ways of trying to get to touch her in the most casual way possible would be enough of an explanation.

He tightened his grip on her hand, nodding at the old man before thanking him. He promised he would come again and turned to push the door open, Mercy following him silently.

“Everything done? Anything else?” she asked and he couldn’t help but notice how much she tried to level her tone. He nodded, passing her a small smile before both of them entered the car.

Surely, she knew what was going on, Sicheng thought.

He was trying his hardest to show her without saying it.

In the end, he was a man of little words.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next day, I woke up with a text message in the work chat.

Sicheng: Goodmorning. I’ll be in the office late today.
Lee Know: You know you don’t have to tell us
Sicheng: Let me know if anything happens
Mercy: Will keep you updated

I shot him a message and finally got ready for work. The moment I reached the office, it was a whirlwind of chaos. Files from the previous work version were deleted and Chris was beginning to lose his . Felix said that there was a bug in the angular website. Changbin was trying his hardest to not blow up on everyone.

I could already tell that it would be a long day but it proved itself to be longer when my phone began to blow up and I saw that it was my little brothers’ school. Mario. It’s been a month since I’ve seen Mario. He studied in Vision High and he stayed in the dorms. I had high hopes for his future.

As I stood by my desk, my phone vibrated and I saw that it was a text message from his school.

Dear Guardian,

We would like to inform you that we are asking for a disciplinary…

And the text message went on and went about how Mario had three strikes. He had been getting into fights and I rubbed my forehead. Mario was fourteen. He had to at least try to graduate high school but it’s been hard to expect that from him when every month, I would get a phone call about his behavior.

I became increasingly frustrated, a hand going to type a message back when a shadow fell on me and I looked up to see Winwin beside me.

“Afternoon,” he said, placing something on my desk. I blinked at him, noticing that he was standing a bit too close. He tilted his head at me and I lowered my phone. “You alright?”

“Yeah,” I said a bit too quickly when I passed him a smile. “You’re here early. I expected you to come a bit later.”

“Just went to pick something up,” he said and I nodded, Winwin reaching up and placing a hand on my head to give it a little pat. “I have a small meeting.”

With that, he walked away. As he entered his office, I saw that I got a text message back. They wanted to conduct a meeting and was asking for a time confirmation. I decided to ask Winwin if I could take a day off, glancing to his blinds to see that there were down.

Had to wait, I said to myself, my eyes falling on a plastic bag on my desk.

Seeing that it wasn’t there before, I reached for it to see that there was something inside it. I opened it up to see the white dress, my eyes widening when I realized that it was the dress that I was admiring the day before. I pulled it out of the bag, a note falling out.

It was written in Winwin’s handwriting and as hard as the day had been, I couldn’t help but smile.

To see the same smile on your face, he wrote.

- Sicheng

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Okay, romance at the moment. At least, that was what I thought as I stared at the text message from Mario’s school. I was pacing back and forth in front of my desk, waiting for Winwin’s blinds to go back up.

When it finally did, I saw him staring at me and I made my way towards his office.

“Hi,” I greeted and he passed me a small smile. “Thank you for the dress.”

How awkward. It was awkward because I didn’t know what to say and instead of small talk, all I wanted to do was ask him if I could take some time off so I could handle Mario’s little problem.

“Did you like it?” he asked and I nodded before I cleared my throat.

“I… I was just hoping to ask for the day off today. Just a few hours. I can come back in the evening if you need me. I know we’re working on a huge timeline but—” I stopped to catch my breath and I realized that my hands were clasped and my bottom lip was shaking. It was the idea of Mario getting expelled that scared me and I knew I wasn’t doing a good job in hiding it.

Winwin’s eyes shifted down towards my hands when he frowned.

“Sure,” he began. “Where are you going?” he asked this carefully and I knew he didn’t want to meddle with personal affairs. He knew nothing of my private life.

“Vision High,” I answered. “My brother, he’s just being a bit… you know.”

At the mention of Vision High, Winwin raised an eyebrow. He was a Vision High alumnus and I just realized that when he nodded. I did not expect him, however, to offer to drive me there. Winwin told me that everyone was given a few hours off— he didn’t want to overwork anyone.

“Besides, everyone doesn’t seem like they’re on their best mood today,” he said and I nodded, Winwin lifting his keys up in the air. “Allow me to drive you.”

“You really don’t have to,” I told him but he insisted, the male grabbing his wallet to shove it in his pocket. “It’s just my brother.”

“Now, I’m curious.” Winwin chuckled. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”

“You didn’t?” I asked, surprised. Then again, I don’t remember ever mentioned Mario to anyone other than Chenle and those who knew him like Hyunjin and Chris but I could be wrong. “His name is Mario.”

“Mario? Like the game character?”

“Nickname,” I told him, Winwin walking behind me as we both exited his office. As he said, everyone was beginning to get ready for a half-day, Changbin on the phone and Felix cleaning his desk. “Did you tell everyone to go home?”

“I did. Work chat,” he told me. “You didn’t see the message?”

I must have not noticed the notification but as I checked it, it was as he said. Cupid waved when she saw both of us walking out of his office.

“Leaving together?” Cupid asked and before I could answer, Winwin nodded. Changbin looked up from his phone call.

“Boss, are you passing YG street? Can you send me back—Ow!” Changbin began but Cupid had grabbed his head, pulling his hair back. Changbin scowled and I frowned, Cupid dragging him away. She gave us a thumbs up and they disappeared behind the green screen as aggressive whispering could be heard.

Changbin popped his head up from behind the green screen and told us that all was good and to have a good time.

Weird.

As we entered the car, I fiddled with my phone, Winwin glancing at me from time to time. I bet I reeked of anxiety and nervousness. He reached forward and put on a song, both of us wordless as the car made a small U-turn into Vision High.

Vision High. I was no stranger to the tall buildings and their computer science programs. Mario had brought brochures and I have visited Vision High a little bit more than I’d like to admit. I swallowed when Winwin asked where I had to be, the male parking the car.

I then realized one thing: he got down of the car with me. I expected him to simply send me off but Winwin pressed down on his car keys, locking the car before one of his hands brushed against my wrist, his other hand pointing to where the counselor’s office was.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[Vision high]

Sicheng knew she was worried. He knew full well that she was trying her hardest to seem composed but he noticed how her voice shook when she asked the counselor what had happened to her brother.

“Mario… Mario has gotten into trouble with one of the students, ma’am,” the counselor began. “He ran away from the teacher's lounge just now because he didn’t want to attend the disciplinary meeting.”

“Is he bullying students?” Mercy asked, the counselor looking unsure of what to say next. “Because if he is—”

“I… I don’t know what to say to that. He gets bullied and then he bullies them back the next day. But it causes a domino effect and it does not stop,” the counselor says and Mercy rubbed her forehead. She gave out a sigh, Sicheng deciding to step away for a moment so they could have a private conversation. Mercy did not even give him a second look, the male taking a walk down the hall to look at how much his old high school had changed.

“Mario! Lucy! Come back here!” a voice yelled out and he froze when he heard a scuffle. He squinted in front of him, seeing a male get pushed against the wall. Another person stood beside him, seemingly a female falling back on the floor. Mario. It was a rare name. Sicheng watched as two students shoved him against the wall, the victim of the scene letting out a yelp as he fought back. “You’re going to get it!”

Oh, kids these days, Sicheng thought. He began to take big strides towards them, one of the students about to bring his fist down on the male that was cowering by the wall when Sicheng stopped him. His hand wrapped around his wrist, Sicheng pulling the student away from Mario.

Definitely Mercy’s brother.

Mario had a broken lip and Sicheng could see that his eyes were beginning to swell. The name tag was not Mario but he guessed that it would be his real name, Sicheng flickering his eyes over at the student who hissed.

“Mario?” he asked and Mario looked up, tilting his head to the side. To Mario, he has never seen Sicheng before. Who was this strange man in a dress shirt and eyes that were boring into his? Mario wondered if he was one of the parents, Mario nodding slowly.

“Let go of me!” the student that Sicheng was holding said, the male pushing him gently to the side when he stepped forward. Before he knew it, Mario felt himself getting brushed off by Sicheng, the older male checking if he had any other bruises.

“Ow,” Mario made a face, Sicheng sighing.

“Your sister wouldn’t be happy about this,” Sicheng said and Mario paled. His sister? Did they actually call her?

“M-My… My sister is—” Mario’s question was cut off when he heard his sister’s voice echo through the hallway. She stood there, her cheeks flaming as she fumed, Mercy stomping towards her brother. “Noona!”

“Mario,” Mercy’s voice trembled, her voice low and deadly. When she reached Mario, she narrowed her eyes on him. “I told you not to get into trouble. Why are you getting into fights?”

Sicheng watched as Mercy stared at her brother who was almost her height. The fourteen-year-old hanging his head. Sicheng frowned, thinking to himself that Mario didn’t seem like he started the fight. But Sicheng wasn’t one to say anything knowing that he knew nothing of the situation.

“I had to stand up for my friend!” Mario exclaimed, Mercy running a hand through her hair. Sicheng saw Mario point at the female that stood at the side, her arms bruised and bloodied. “His name was Lucy but now he’s Louis and they made fun of him so I punched them. I had to; you know! They bullied him.”

Mercy paused and Sicheng expected her to praise him. He expected Mercy to tell Mario that he did a good job but she didn’t. Instead, she shook her head.

“We can’t afford you getting in fights, Mario. You can’t just—”

“What do you mean? He’s standing up for his friend,” Sicheng found himself stating from the side but Mercy groaned.

This would one of the times where he’d realize that Mercy was not the person he thought she was. She wasn’t as strong as he thought she was. She did not like fighting and she was one to endure pain if she thought that it’d help.

“I did not teach him to be this way,” she said more to herself than him. “Why are you so aggressive, Mario?”

“It’s the fortnight,” Mario replied and she shook her head. “Noona, the other day, we had swimming classes. They stole his uniform and who does that? Why would you steal someone’s uniform? Louis should be able to use whatever pronouns he wants to use and not be made fun of for it!”

“Mario… You have to apologize to them. They want to suspend you—”

“I’m not apologizing for standing up for my friend!” Mario shook his head and Sicheng agreed to that. He watched as Mercy bit down on her lower lip. He understood that she wanted the best for Mario, but why was she asking him to apologize for something that wasn’t his fault?

He did not have a firm grasp of Mercy’s personality but seeing her with her brother made Sicheng notice that she did not like conflict. She loved him dearly, but she wanted him to keep a low profile so he would be able to graduate.

“Mario, you can’t afford to—”

“I can’t believe you want me to say sorry to them,” Mario said suddenly and Sicheng watched as his head hung low. Mercy reached out to place a hand on his shoulder. She didn’t want him to, but if he had to do it to stay then she would make him.

“You can’t taint your records, Mario. You need to get into university.”

“Don’t apologize,” Sicheng found himself saying, Mercy looking up at him with big eyes as if she had forgotten that he was there. “Let me talk to them. Don’t apologize.”

“He needs his education,” Mercy said to him, Sicheng shaking his head.

“If you make him apologize, they’ll make his life a living hell. Bullies are like that,” Sicheng told her, Mercy’s eyes going back to the bruised brother. Her finger rubbed against his lip and he could tell that she wanted to cry.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I hated that Mario was in so much pain but in my mind, we both had no choice.

I let Winwin do whatever he wanted to do, the male disappearing into the counselor’s office as I glanced at my brother’s name tag, adjusting it.

“Remember what I told you, Mario.”

“Endure it until you can no more,” he whispered and I nodded, patting his cheek. We weren’t rich and we did not have any space to make mistakes. I couldn’t go to university and spent all my time and money on trying to give my brother what he deserved—and that was a good education and hopefully, he’d get a decent job.

But if he were to keep getting into fights, he wouldn’t have a good record. As I tried to think of what to say to the counselor if Winwin could not talk his way out—I paused, my eyes going to the closed counselor door to wonder what he was saying. Why was he talking to the counselor when it was my brother?

“Your boyfriend?” Mario asked suddenly and I looked back at him, my brother’s eyes also on the counselor's door. “I like him.”

“Not my boyfriend,” I told him. I pressed a finger against Mario’s lip, my brother wincing when I heard footsteps and a big gasp. I looked up to see Chenle in a blazer, my brother running towards him.

“Hyung!”

“Chenle?” I asked, frowning at him.

“What did you do?” Chenle demanded,