"No!" Youngjae yelled as he was thrown back into his room; he instantly turned around, and began pounding on the door until his knuckles ached. His tears still flowed down his cheeks, but not from despair anymore; Youngjae was beyond angry. "Let me out! You told me you'd let him live!"

Youngjae was replied with silence, and his legs gave out under him as he fell to the floor.

It wasn't possible. It was just the lights flickering, right? Daehyun wasn't actually dead. They didn't actually kill him. Why would they? That wasn't part of the conditions they'd negotiated.

Alone now, Youngjae felt a wave of crushing defeat slam into him. He clawed at his chest as he tried to make the feeling go away, his sobs getting progressively louder the longer he thought about Daehyun. He wanted to scream, wanted to run away, wanted to see Daehyun again.

But... He couldn't. Not anymore.

"I love you."

"What did I do in my past life to deserve this?" Youngjae sobbed.

//

Youngjae didn't know how long he'd been in that room. He was all alone, wallowing in his sorrows. What else was he supposed to do? He couldn't exactly break out; he didn't have the right supplies, not enough manpower, and certainly no more motivation. It'd have been a suicide mission if Youngjae tried breaking out on his own.

As the hours passed by, Youngjae's thoughts became more and more hateful of the Republic.

"Good morning, Youngjae," Madame Hyosung announced suddenly, her chirpy voice echoing slightly around the room.

Youngjae barely reacted, simply letting out a grunt as he his bed. He didn't even bother to open his eyes; he already knew the Empress was at her mahogany desk, surrounded by high-class furniture priced so high it'd feed the entire District 8.

"I'm sure you know why I'm here, Youngjae," Madame Hyosung continued. Youngjae wondered what it'd take to finally get her to snap.

"You won't get anything out of me. You didn't keep up your part of the bargain," Youngjae replied stubbornly. He might not have had motivation, but what he did have was newfound hatred for the Empress.

There was silence for a bit, and when Youngjae cracked open an eye, Madame Hyosung had let slip a small scowl. "Now, Youngjae, I'm just going to ask you a simple question."

Youngjae opened his eyes, and sat up, staring at the monitor with feigned respect. "But, Madame, you're the Empress. You run the country. Ask me anything you like."

"Where is Guernica?" Madame Hyosung asked. She'd lowered her voice, annoyance clearly lacing the undertones.

"Madame, because I have the honor of answering such a noble question," Youngjae paused as he stood up from his bed and walked up to the monitor, "Guernica is up your ."

Madame Hyosung's eyes widened, and her face turned beet red. The monitor quickly shut off, returning into a white wall, and Youngjae sighed. Where did that come from? If he tried to even attempt saying that to anybody, he'd be trembling in fear, and yet, he said that right to the Empress's face. Why?

Stretching, Youngjae sat back down on his bed.

//

Madame Hyosung returned some time later. And then another time. And then once more. She always asked questions regarding Guernica, but Youngjae refused to answer them––at least directly. He saw no point in keeping up his part of the deal if the Empress couldn't do so herself. 

"What was your relation to Jung Daehyun?" the Empress asked once. 

Youngjae stared at Madame Hyosung, trying to see the ulterior motive behind the question. Daehyun wasn't of utmost importance to them, was he? He was just a nuisance  to government. Now that he was...dead, he shouldn't be on the Empress's mind anymore, right?

"What was you relation to Jung Daehyun?" Madame Hyosung repeated. 

Youngjae stayed quiet for a bit, contemplating his answers. He struggled to get Daehyun's name out of his mouth. "Daehyun...was just a member of Guernica. We had no special relationship."

Madame Hyosung pursed her lips. "I don't like being lied to, Youngjae."

Youngjae blinked. "What do––"

The screen switched, revealing a surveillance clip of Daehyun and Youngjae, kissing in that room God knows how long ago. Gritting his teeth, Youngjae clenched his fists, and a lump quickly formed in his throat. What was Madame Hyosung trying to get at? The screen switched back to the Empress again, and Youngjae took in a deep breath.

"I think," Madame Hyosung paused, seemingly examining something on her nails, "Daehyun was much more than 'just a member' to you."

Youngjae opened and closed his fists, the image of him and Daehyun still fresh in his mind. 

//

Nowadays, sleep didn't always come easily to Youngjae, and when it did, it wasn't the most pleasant. Nightmares plagued his dreams, and he grew increasingly exhausted as time passed.

Youngjae was jolted awake by screams. He covered his ears in annoyance, but as the screaming continued, Youngjae realized that he knew that voice.

"Daehyun?" Youngjae exclaimed, bolting up and looking around. "Daehyun?!"

The screams were horrific, blood-curdling, deafening, bouncing against the walls and Youngjae's eardrums. In his still hazy mind, Youngjae felt despair well up in the bottom of his stomach like molten lead. He laid back down again, covering his ears as he curled up into a tight ball. 

But even then, Youngjae could still hear Daehyun. 

"Stop," Youngjae begged, his voice barely audible over the screams. "Please. Stop it."

It took a long while for the tortured screaming to finally came to an end, and when it did, it died out, turning from harsh wails to soft sobs. 

//

"What were Guernica's plans?" Madame Hyosung asked. 

"Survive," Youngjae replied monotonously, his voice devoid of any emotion. He was tired, impatient, and getting angrier the longer he stayed confined to that bland room. 

Madame Hyosung let out a sigh. 

"You know," Youngjae said, pointing at the monitor, "all you've been doing is asking me questions. How about I ask you some?"

Madame Hyosung narrowed her eyes, but didn't stop Youngjae. 

"What do you need me for?" Youngjae asked. "If I was just another runaway citizen, you'd have killed me by now, but you haven't. Why? Why am I still here?"

"We need more people like you, Youngjae," Madame Hyosung replied slowly, almost cautiously. She was choosing her words carefully.

Youngjae furrowed his eyebrows as he thought about her response. "That can't be it. That cannot be all of it."

"A mind like yours comes only once every century. The last time the world has seen somebody with your capabilities was before the Great War," Madame Hyosung explained, her tone taking on a sort of reverence. 

"If I let you, what exactly will you be using me for?" Youngjae asked. He couldn't trust the Empress, but he felt...appreciated. 

"Youngjae, this country is at war," Madame Hyosung began. 

Youngjae blinked. What? But Korea was isolated from the rest of the world by a literal wall. How could they be at war?

"You don't get it, do you?" Madame Hyosung asked, her voice condescending. "The United Eurasia is trying to take over Korea and exploit us for our resources."

"And what do I have to do with this?" Youngjae answered. 

Madame Hyosung smiled. "What I want you to do is help me. Help the Republic. If you won't help catch Guernica, help defend your country."

Youngjae kept his mouth shut. Was Madame Hyosung lying? How could he know?

"We've been defending against Eurasia for several months now," Madame Hyosung continued. "It's at a standstill at the moment, but I fear that we don't have much time. We'd like you to assist us in assembling new weaponry in order for us to stop defending and instead attack."

Youngjae took in a deep breath. Something wasn't adding up. His mind began working faster than it had in a while. Several months wasn't a long time. Youngjae had been with Guernica for about half a year. If Eurasia and Korea had been at war for only several months, then... 

"That's not the real reason you wanted to take me in, was it?" Youngjae asked. 

"What?" Madame Hyosung asked, but Youngjae knew he hit something. 

Youngjae crossed his arms above his chest. "In January, you sent a soldier to get me, right?"

Madame Hyosung was silent. Eventually, she replied with a hesitant, "Yes."

"Alright, now, assuming it's still summer," Youngjae paused, quickly calculating the months in his mind, "that war must have started sometime in spring or later."

Madame Hyosung sat with agape, and Youngjae felt a small bit of satisfaction. 

"What do you really need me for?" Youngjae repeated. "Why am I still here?"

Before Youngjae could get any sort of response, the monitor switched off. 

Youngjae blinked. "That was a little rude."

//

Youngjae had come up with a plan. 

He was going to escape. He needed to escape, and get back to Guernica. Daehyun would have wanted that. 

When the soldier came by to pick up his tray of food, Youngjae would use that opportunity to attack the soldier and escape. He had hidden a steak knife under his pillow and would use that to his advantage. The only setback Youngjae could think of was that he didn't know the layout of the building. The last thing he wanted to do was stumble around blindly and get caught again. 

"You all finished?" the soldier asked as he opened the door. 

Youngjae nodded, already feeling his heartbeat quicken as the first wave of adrenaline shot through his veins. The soldier picked up the tray, and just before he walked out, Youngjae threw the steak knife right at the soldier, the blade driving deep into the soldier's back. Gasping, the soldier dropped the tray and was about to turn around, but Youngjae had yanked the knife out and reached up to dig the knife into the juncture between the soldier's neck and shoulder. Blood had spilled out of both wounds, landing on the pristine floor as well as Youngjae.

"I'm sorry," Youngjae whispered as the soldier clawed weakly at the knife. When the soldier fell to the ground, Youngjae retrieved the ray gun holstered at the soldier's belt. "I'm really sorry."

And then Youngjae was out. He wasn't sure when the people behind the security camera would alert the Empress––if they haven't already–– but he was sure it wouldn't be too long. Without thinking, Youngjae rushed down the hall, careful with his steps and watchful of his surroundings. He needed to look for an exit––or maybe a staircase. 

However, it seemed as though Youngjae wasn't getting anywhere at the rate he was going. 

All the doors looked the same, nearly all the halls were identical, and there didn't seem to be any directory sign in sight. So the building definitely wasn't for public access. 

Youngjae began to panic. The entire place was a maze, and he didn't have enough time to figure the entire place out. Her heard the faint thuds of soldiers' boots, and Youngjae just knew they were looking for him.

On impulse, Youngjae ducked into a random room. He hastily closed the door behind him, sweeping the room for anybody. When he realized that the room was empty, he leaned against the door, listening to the rush of Legion soldiers outside. Hopefully, he could hide in here until he thought of a plan. 

"Jae?"

Youngjae froze, and he felt his limbs tremble as the last bits of adrenaline drained from his system. He knew that voice. No. That wasn't possible, though. He slowly turned his head towards the source of the voice, and sure enough––

"Daehyun?"

A/N: lol get it "Can I Be The Only Hope For You? Because You're The Only Hope For Me" because they're part one and part two. Sorry it's so lame, but it's just you know... so daejae. But the song these titles are borrowed from fits the situation so well.

Also did you guys really think I'd kill Daehyun off so quickly?????? Just think of all the wasted scenes (with no relation to the plot whatsoever but something I'd use as an excuse for relationship/character development).

And before you guys ask, the soldiers aren't in their full combat suits while inside because that's a little unreasonable. Think military uniforms, semi-loose clothing.

{This has been part two of a two-part heartbreak.}

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