Mercy
The Court of Rogues
Kyuhyun found you sitting on the side of the road, staring bleakly into space. “Hey, ----------,” he said. You didn’t even acknowledge his presence. Kyuhyun was about to say something else, but then he caught a glimpse of your exhausted and tearstained face. He felt a strange feeling in his heart. For the first time in Kyuhyun’s life, he actually felt sorry for someone other than himself. He stood next to you for a while, and then it seemed like he made up his mind about something. He grabbed your arm and pulled you up. “Let’s go.”
“What?” you asked, confused. “Where are we going?”
“Just get in the car.”
You slumped down in the seat, physically and emotionally exhausted. “How do I know I can trust you? Kibum told me that when you were still in Pusan, you told a spy everything! And you disappeared during the gambling assignment, and....”
Kyuhyun raised an eyebrow and interrupted you. “You believe everything Kibum tells you?” he said sarcastically. “Look, --------, I knew that I was talking to a spy that night. I WANTED to be transferred... Kibum was going to be moving to Seoul and at that time, I suspected him of being another spy but I had no proof. So I told the spy enough information to get me in trouble and sent out of Pusan, but not enough to hurt anyone.”
“Wow, great plan,” you said angrily. “Make everyone lose their trust in you so you can go chasing your buddy to a different city.”
Kyuhyun was about to shoot an insult back but his cell phone rang. “Yeobosayo?” He listened to the voice on the phone for a few minutes, while you looked on and tried to hear the other person. Finally he nodded. “Thanks for the information. We’ll meet you there.”
“What?” you asked, confused. “Meet who where?”
“You’ll find out soon.”
=====
The two of you drove into the city. After a while, you pulled up at a large white building. A hospital.
“Why are we here?” you asked.
“We’re just going to talk to a few friends of yours,” Kyuhyun replied. He approached the nurse on duty. “I need to speak to patients 415147, 1825515, and 1921147.”
The nurse frowned as she checked her computer. “I’m sorry sir, but those patients don’t seem to exist. Their numbers are not in our database.”
Kyuhyun nodded, expecting this. The locations of Rogues had to be kept secret, of course. “Since these patients don’t exist, where do you keep them?”
“Why, in rooms that don’t exist, of course,” replied the nurse.
“And where would the rooms that don’t exist be located?” asked Kyuhyun.
“This is a stupid game,” you interrupted. “The rooms that don’t exist will be on a floor that doesn’t exist, in a hospital that doesn’t exist, in a city that doesn’t exist, on a planet that doesn’t exist, in a universe that doesn’t exist! Why are you wasting my time here, Kyuhyun?”
Kyuhyun scowled at you. “Don’t interrupt the nurse.”
The nurse looked at you. “Actually, the rooms that don’t exist are located on the top floor.”
You blinked. Obviously, the nurse knew that the patients DID exist and she and Kyuhyun had just had this conversation for security reasons. “Oh.”
You walked into the room of patient 1921147, wondering who he could be. You gasped as you saw the figure on the bed. “Sungmin oppa! Thank goodness you survived.”
“Barely,” he replied with an ironic smile. “So where were you?”
“I was captured by Rogue Guild,” you told him softly. “We know who the traitor is now.” Bending down, you whispered in his ear. “Kibum.”
Sungmin’s face fell. “Him? I’m sorry, -------------. I knew you liked him.”
You smiled bitterly. “It doesn’t matter now.”
“Anyways, can you do me a favor?” Sungmin asked. “While I’m REALLY glad that I’m in the hospital and getting taken care of, I do miss having some, uh, certain foods…”
You understood immediately. Sungmin wanted junk food. “You want me to bring you a hamburger?” It was his favorite.
Immediately his eyes lit up. “Please? All they give me here is healthy stuff! I’m begging you!”
You smiled. “Of course, oppa.”
Kyuhyun nudged you. “This isn’t who we were supposed to see. Let’s go.”
Saying goodbye to Sungmin, you left the room and went in search of patient 1825515.
“Don’t forget to bring me a hamburger!” he called after the two of you.
The next patient was Ryeowook. He was lying in the white hospital bed, asleep, or so you thought. He opened his eyes when you and Kyuhyun entered the room.
He nodded at Kyuhyun. “Thanks for getting here so quickly after I called you.”
“Ryeowook oppa?” you asked. “Why would you call Kyuhyun?”
Ryeowook looked at you. “-----------, Kyuhyun told me about you being a suspected traitor. I know you’re not guilty, but we need proof. And we’re going to give the rest of the Court of Rogues that proof.”
“How?”
“I have security tapes stored on my laptop. You’ll be able to see that it was Kibum and Jaejoong, along with other Guild Rogues, that attacked the Court, not you.”
Kyuhyun nodded. “Sounds like a good plan. So where is your laptop?”
“Unfortunately, my laptop is still at whatever remains of Rogue Court. Siwon forgot to bring it with him when he took me to the hospital,” Ryeowook said, sighing.
You froze. “You want us to go to Rogue Court? After what happened to it?”
“You don’t have to go,” Kyuhyun said, in a surprisingly gentle tone. “The headquarters looks pretty bad after the attack…If it’s too much, I’ll go and get the laptop, and you can stay with Ryeowook.”
You shook your head. “No. I can handle it.”
Kyuhyun frowned. “Actually, maybe it would be better if you stayed-“
“-Can someone just PLEASE go get my laptop now?!” interrupted Ryeowook. “I’m having withdrawal symptoms. I need my Internet! Must…check…email…” He pretended to faint.
You laughed, suddenly breaking the tension in the room.
You turned to Kyuhyun. “I can go,” you said determinedly.
He nodded. “Alright then. Let’s go.”
“The laptop is in my desk, or what’s left of my desk,” said Ryeowook. “Don’t forget my charger, too!”
You and Kyuhyun were about to leave the hospital when you suddenly remembered something. “Kyuhyun, wait. Who is patient 415147? Aren’t we going to see him too?”
Kyuhyun hesitated. “Maybe not today…”
“Why not? Please Kyuhyun, just tell me who he is,” you asked.
He sighed. “It’s Donghae.”
“Oh no.” While you were happy that Donghae had survived, his being in the hospital wasn’t a good sign. “Can we see him?”
Kyuhyun shook his head. “No, I really don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Please?” you begged. “He’s my best friend.”
“Okay,” Kyuhyun said, sighing. “But you may not like what you see…”
You went to the room of patient 415147. Looking at the person on the white hospital bed, you had to choke back a sob. Donghae had bandages all around his body, and he was plugged into numerous machines to help him breathe and give him medicines.
“Donghae was gravely injured in the attack,” Kyuhyun told you softly. “We found him unconscious and took him here. He’s been in a coma ever since.”
You tried to hold back tears as you rushed to Donghae’s side. “Oppa, please wake up,” you whispered. “I’m here now. Please, please get better…”
Donghae didn’t move. The only sign you had that he was alive was his torso, which moved up and down as he breathed.
“We have to go now. The sooner we can get to the laptop the better,” said Kyuhyun.
Sadly you nodded. “I’ll see you later, oppa,” you told Donghae. “Please wake up soon.”
The two of you left the hospital and drove toward the former headquarters of the Seoul Court of Rogues, now reduced to rubble.
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