Work Text:
You were late.
Sitting in the backseat of a cab, you tapped your fingers impatiently against your thigh. You checked your phone every few seconds, afraid that time would would outrun you. You hadn’t anticipated the traffic heading to the airport, and internally you were kicking yourself for not taking the day off work and accepting Jumin’s offer to send a car for you instead. When the cab finally started pulling into the curb by the terminal, you unbuckled your seatbelt in nervous anticipation. It was all you could do not to open the door and jump out while the car was still in motion and just run for it.
You checked your phone again–your stomach lurched. Every second that passed was another moment lost.
“Thank you,” you said to the driver once you’d paid. You hopped out of the cab and sprinted through the terminal doors.
A female security guard called after you, forcing you to slow down. You complied and breathed your apology, but once she turned away, you started jogging.
You couldn’t miss him. You’d regret it for the rest of your life if you did.
As you raced through the airport, you cursed time for being so fickle. Sometimes a year could be gone in a flash, while an hour could seem as long as an eternity. Now minutes were slipping quickly from your grasp.
Time was a strange thing. Two months ago you’d found yourself caught in a tangled web of a secret cult and a defunct fundraising organization, and you came out the other end a new person. You never thought a mere eleven days could mark such a definite line between your life before and after those whirlwind events, and within those eleven days you had felt as if you’d lived an entirely separate existence beyond the realm of reality. A middle gray area...
You tried explaining this to V once, while he lay in the hospital bed recovering from his eye surgery. There were bandages wrapped around his head blocking his vision, and he’d wanted to hear your voice—anyone’s voice—so he wouldn’t have to sit alone in the dark and silence. He laughed, but not unkindly, when you tried and failed to describe this weird perception of time, but he assured you that he understood what you meant.
That was a month ago. It felt like ages.
God, you really hoped you didn’t miss him.
You came to a stop once you reached the security checkpoint and scanned your eyes across the terminal.
Then you spotted a group of six people huddled together in the waiting area. You breathed a sigh of relief as you recognized the odd bunch.They were hard to miss, not just because of their wildly different hair colors, but because, when standing next to each other, no one would’ve ever guessed they were all actually friends. They didn’t look like they fit together, with their contrasting personalities and philosophies, but somehow, they did.
You fit with them, too, if you could believe it.
As you slowly made your approach, taking your time to catch your breath, you noticed Zen was talking animatedly about something, eliciting a laugh from the group. From your angle, you could only see the backs of five heads—Seven, Yoosung, Jumin, Jaehee, and Zen—they were all facing the same direction, toward one person in particular.
A cell phone ringed. Jumin reached into his pocket. He stepped aside as he took the call, and...you saw him.
Although the rest of RFA were easy to spot, V stood out most of all. With his unique turquoise hair (which you couldn’t believe was natural, even though he swore to you it was) and matching eyes, it was almost as if he were born to be noticed in a packed crowd. When you examined his face, however, it looked like being noticed was the one thing he couldn’t want less. He seemed to be uncomfortable being the center of RFA’s attention, offering shy smiles and nervous laughs in response to his friends’ comments. It was an endearing quality.
You realized now with a sudden sadness that these smiles might be the last ones you’d ever see from him.
Jumin’s momentary departure from the group left an empty space between Yoosung and Jaehee, and you stopped just a few paces behind them, not wanting to interrupt whatever Yoosung was currently saying to V. As V’s gaze traveled, his eyes paused in the gap, on you.
Your eyes locked. You didn’t know whether you should wave or say hello. He seemed to have the same debate, and you just stood staring at each other in silence.
“Uh, V?” said Yoosung. “What are you—oh, MC! You’re here!”
The others turned to look at you in unison. V smiled at you, as if he were both happy to see you and relieved that the attention had shifted elsewhere for a change.
“MC!” Zen called and rushed toward you, blocking your view of V. “I was starting to worry something had happened to you. You stopped answering my texts.”
“I know, I’m sorry,” you said. “I got a cab as soon as I left work, but we ran into traffic on the way here. I was so afraid I’d be late.”
“I thought Jumin was going to pick you up,” Yoosung said.
Jaehee shook her head. “No, she declined his offer.”
“Really? Hm, I guess I understand if you’d think that’d be too awkward. What about Seven? He might’ve gotten you here sooner, since he drives like a maniac.”
“Hey, I offered,” Seven said. “But she said she couldn’t miss work today.”
Everyone had made plans to meet at the airport at a certain time, but you said you’d meet them a little afterward because you couldn’t afford to take anymore time away from work. You were a receptionist at a small corporate office in the city, and after your sudden disappearance for eleven days, you were at risk of losing your job. You couldn’t tell them the entire truth of what happened, of course; you had only informed them that you had an emergency that forced you to go M.I.A., and they were sympathetic, but only to a certain degree. You’d spent the next few weeks after the incident swamped in playing catch up and being under close scrutiny by your superiors. It wasn’t your dream job by any means, but it paid the bills until you found something more worth your while.
“I’m sorry,” you said again. “I’m here now, though. What did I miss?”
“Zen was just telling us something that happened at rehearsal this morning,” Yoosung said.
“If I’d known the director was a crazy person,” Zen said, “maybe I wouldn’t have agreed to take this role.”
“Be reasonable,” said Jaehee promptly. “He may not be ideal, but you can’t deny this role will help boost your career significantly.”
Zen sighed. “You’re right. But MC, I have to tell you what happened in the break room–”
“Please spare us from having to hear a repeat of the anecdote,” came Jumin’s smooth voice. He’d returned to the group, slipping his phone back into his pocket. “Good to see you, MC. I had to take care of a work matter on the phone. Assistant Kang, I’d like to discuss it with you later. Right now, however, we’re here to wish V good luck and safe travels.”
Everyone turned back to face V. Sometimes V could be so quiet that his presence would go entirely unnoticed for long periods of time. It was rare that all seven RFA members, including you, were together in the same room. The last time you all saw each other face to face was when V was discharged from the hospital after his eye surgery. You’d planned a small get together at V’s house to celebrate his recovery, and even though he was supposed to be the center of attention, his voice was easily drowned out by the louder, more talkative members. V didn’t seem to mind. Though you were still getting to know him, you’d quickly learned that he preferred to blend into the background, preferred to be forgotten, an afterthought.
But he was never an afterthought to you.
V massaged the back of his head as he glanced at the large screen hovering above the waiting area. “I should get going soon. Don’t want to miss my flight.” He looked at you. “I’m glad you came, MC. I was hoping I’d get to see you before I left.”
Your chest tightened to hear the wistfulness in his voice. “Me too.”
You had so much you wanted to say to him, but you didn’t know where to begin. How was it possible that you’d known him for only two months, when it seemed like so much longer? You didn’t even think he was real when you first met him in the RFA chatroom. Then after you met in person, you’d stayed by his side through the most difficult trial of his life. You remained there ever since, maybe not in person, maybe not all the time, but you’d found yourselves calling or texting each other every now and then. Checking up on each other. Making sure he was okay. Making sure you were okay. He stayed out of the chatrooms for the most part, and you had a sense that he was slowly beginning to pick up the pieces of his fractured life on his own terms. You gave him space when he needed it, and you listened to him when he needed to vent. He did the same for you.
Eventually, your conversations stopped being only about the traumatic experience you both went through. Sometimes you’d spend hours on the phone in the evening, and you’d complain to him about your job and your overbearing bosses.
“Well, since you hate working there so much,” V had said on the phone late one evening, “what would you want to do instead if you decided to quit?”
“Hm.” You were silent for a few moments. “I’ve always liked the idea of working with kids.”
“Like a teacher?”
“Maybe? I’m not sure. Or some job where I get to travel a lot.”
“Traveling sounds like a good idea,” he said, his tone contemplative.
“Agh, I don’t know!” Your mind was whirling with ideas. “There’s so many different things I’d like to do in theory, but part of me is afraid I’ll never get to do them all in one lifetime.”
“Maybe don’t think about it like you have to do everything at once. Pick one thing you want to do first, and see where that takes you.”
"That makes sense. I suppose I put too much hope on the future being better rather than trying to make it better...I’d definitely want to quit my job first then,” you said. You both laughed. “Then I’d take some time to find out what I really want in life. Hey, what about you?”
“What about me?”
“You said you wanted to try painting again, right? Have you thought about giving it another shot?”
He hesitated. “I...don’t know yet. I’m not sure if I’m ready.”
“No one’s ever ready for anything. You just gotta do it.” You sighed, realizing you could say the same to yourself. “But I understand. I guess we’re both just trying to figure ourselves out right now, huh?”
"Yeah,” he said quietly. “What a pair we make.”
A week later, V told you and the RFA that he decided to leave Korea to figure himself out. The news shocked you, but you learned to accept and support his decision. He needed this.
...Airport chatter buzzed around you now, filling the silence that had fallen between you and V. It was hard to believe those late night conversations you shared about nothing and everything would come to an end. You could only stare at him, mentally etching his every feature into your mind. No one knew for how long he’d be away, not even V. Maybe forever.
Time was fickle, but forever was constant.
Swallowing the lump that had formed in your throat, you managed a small smile. “So...Hong Kong first, right?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I went there with my father on a business trip once when I was young, but I didn’t get a chance to see much of the area. I stayed in the hotel most of the time. I figured since I’ve been there before, it’d be a nice stepping stone before I move on to other places.”
“Where will you go after that?”
He shrugged, but a grin tugged at his lips. “No idea. But...it’s kind of exciting, to be honest. Not knowing where I’ll be in a month. Or two. A year.”
“That is exciting,” you said. “I’m happy you’re actually doing this, V. Really.”
His smile faded, and his turquoise eyes softened. “It’s all thanks to you, MC. If you knew me three months ago, I would’ve never thought I’d ever do anything like this. You helped me realize that I need to do something for myself for once.”
You turned your gaze to the floor, holding back the tears that had begun stinging your eyes. You noticed the other RFA members had distanced themselves from you and V, and they were currently standing several paces to the side, talking to each other in hushed voices. You were glad for the privacy. Although you’d created lifelong bonds with all of them, whatever you had with V was different somehow. You had no word for it, no concept of what these feelings were. You just knew that you never again wanted to see him fall into the depths of despair as he had two months ago. You wanted him to be happy, to discover himself. To love himself.
Even still, you couldn’t help but be worried.
“V…” you said quietly. “You’ll be okay, right?”
He inhaled a long, deep breath and swept a glance at the terminal around him before he responded. “Yeah. I think I will be.”
You couldn’t stop the tears from falling now, nor could you stop yourself from rushing forward and wrapping your arms around him.
The first time you hugged V, he’d been so startled by the gesture that he didn’t know what to do with himself. He seemed equally as surprised now, his muscles stiff and tense, but then he let out a slow sigh. He folded his arms around you, pulling you closer. Closer than you’d ever been to each other.
You liked the warmth of him, how you seemed to fit comfortably within his embrace. It only made you cry harder.
“Take care of yourself,” you whispered into his chest. “Please, V.”
His breath hitched. “I will, MC. I promise. Will you promise me something too?”
You leaned back, raised your head to look up at him, and nodded.
“Live your life, MC,” he said. “Our futures aren’t set in stone, and I don’t want you to sit around waiting for it to come. You deserve better than that. Find your passion and do what you love. Live every moment for yourself. Will you do that?”
You could hardly speak through your sobs, but you managed to say, “Yes. I will. I promise.”
“Good. And I’ll do it, too.” He nodded, content, but his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Thank you, MC. Thank you for everything.”
Before you knew it, he was gathering his bags and making his way through security. You watched him walk ahead through the terminal. He stopped for a moment and turned around, searching for you.
When he found you, he winked, lifted his right hand, and waved.