âtell me. tell me everything. from the very beginning, right up until this moment here. i need to know everything before i give you a location. i need to know what, how, why, everything. because if we donât get you to the right place, weâll all die here in the city.â jaesun doesnât sit. he stands awkwardly, tries to lean against a broken bench, but fears the splinters potentially embedding themselves into the skin of his back. so he leans against stiff air, looks over victorâs face intently. âiâll help you with anything, you know that. we just need to know the facts, and get you some place safe. i promise, i have a lot of places you can stay. youâre good here, as long as we get this next step right.â
To say he was surprised to see Jaesun when he got there would be a lie, and a large one, but to say that he was surprised when Jaesun ran up to him was an accurate statement. Had it not been for the dark, drab, dingy warehouse, the foul smell of the rotting wood and lord knows what else, and the constant panic thrumming through his veins, sending his energies wild, he would have almost likened this to a dramatic reunion scene from a cheesy movie- slow motion, lens flares, and flowery fields included. No, no, that wasnât their reality. Life was no movie, it was no book, and there was no cutting out bad scenes in post. There was no backspace key to undo your mistakes, and they were both paying for that harsh truth now.Â
âYou seemed surprised itâs me,â he sighed, had Jaesun not had an easy time leaving? Well, he could imagine not. After all, Jaesun had been deep into his own sins and his own gang when theyâd lived in the same city. Vic had known Jaesunâs leader- he was a brother, truly, before everything came to an end. He knew Jaesun meant the world to his leader, so he couldnât imagine that man let him go without a fight. âCanât say I blame you. But Iâm glad to see you seem to be doing well. Youâre alive, at the very least, which is always nice.âÂ
As Jaesun ushered him in, he took a look around the space, and sorry to say, this place wasnât winning any awards for interior decor. The concrete floors were dirty, stained, and had cracks throughout- some places missing small chunks. The smell, at the very least, wasnât as strong inside, so Vic took the win where he could. When he was asked to have a seat, he took one look at the bench- maybe it could support his weight? Or maybe it would snap beneath him, heâd end up with splinters, and knowing his luck, a nail used to keep it in place from 50 years ago would stab him and give him tetanus. He pursed his lips together in a partial frown and shook his head, âYa know, Iâve been sitting the whole drive. I think Iâll just uh- stand, if you donât mind.â Tetanus isnât on his list of things to get done today.Â
He nodded as he listened to the youngerâs demands, knowing full well heâd have to disclose everything to him. Yeonaâs future safety was riding on this.Â
âWell, you know everything from up until you left- you were there for it. We made that pact, Iâd provide information. Then when it came to help that fucker with the stupid accent, I gave him money to rebuild his stupid bar, and he swore heâd offer me protection,â he sighed, kicking the tip of his shoe against the floor, making a scuff within the dirt, âBut he left. Went on vacation, according to Hisoka,â the small blonde woman was his only point of contact in that gang after Jaesun had left, âShe wasnât too happy about that. Didnât say how long, just left the SIC in charge. Which is also wasnât happy with. Donât think she likes that guy too much,âÂ
He recalled the conversation heâd had with the young, newly-realized jinn, over coffee at his place. Itâd been not even a week after Vicâd gotten word Jaesun had skipped town. When Vic had healed the young woman in the hospital for the last time, heâd given her his card, just as he had with Jaesun the first night theyâd met. She called him, worried out of her mind for her family, because everyone left at seemingly the same time. She came to him, wondering is he knew anything at all about where any of them might be, but sadly he had nothing to offer her.Â
âSome time had passed, and I think my leader got more and more suspicious the less and less time I was spending in my med bay back at base,â he grimaced at the memory, knowing itâd been the most foolish mistake of his whole operation, but he couldnât help Jaesunâs gang and be in his own med bay at the same time. It just wasnât reasonable. âEventually she had one of our spies follow me. I donât think she found out I was feeding information, because at that point there wasnât much info to feed- it was kinda obvious all those hits were a third party anyways. But she did find me with Hisoka and her father having dinner. And then we were followed from dinner to The Underground- and after that, my leader had a pretty solid case against me. I was blatantly healing the enemy, helping them rebuild. She didnât see at me helping my best friend- didnât matter.â
âI donât know for a fact Iâm a wanted man. If I run, I donât honestly know if sheâd have someone after me. My only crime is helping my friend, in their eyes,â he shifted the weight on his feet, rolled his shoulders back, and sighed, âMaybe theyâll honor Jinheeâs memory and leave us alone for Yeonaâs sake. Jinhee put in years- nearly a decadeâs worth of work for them, after all. I sent Yeona to my parents in America. Sheâs staying there until I find a safe place to bring her back- but hopefully, to anyone watching, it looks like I fled back to the states. I always told them that one day Iâd like to go home,â his mouth was dry from his explanation, but he thinks he covered everything. âHisokaâs fine, by the way. Sheâs hurting like hell- evidently you and Junho arenât the only people she lost, but sheâs holding up. She comes over sometimes, just to talk,âÂ
He leaned back to look at his car to see that everything was still alright, he had full confidence that between himself and Jaesun they could take on just about anything- heâd become a lot less adverse to fighting in the last few months, if the pistol on his hip was any indication. Still, it didnât mean he wanted to get into a fight. Especially since thatâs Johnâs car, and his older brother is pretty anal about scratches, let alone bullet holes.Â
And Cheeto was taking a nap in there. Bullets and cats, even magical ones, donât mix.
âThe only reason I think Iâm in danger is if I stay. The other day... I saw one of our assassins across the street from my place. Oh, but Vic, people come over to your place all the time~ you might say. Not her. Sheâs a sweetheart, but not much a fan for bonding or friendship. People forget that once I heal you once, I can sense your energy if youâre near enough, and that radius gets larger and stronger every time I heal them. She was hiding, but I saw her- made eye contact and she split. If I run, I think Iâll be fine- but your old leaderâs protection policy ran out, I guess. Took my money and went on his merry way to England for an extended vacation. Left Hisoka too. The SIC wonât honor the deal we had, so Iâve got no other choice but to run. So I called the only person I knew who could help me, and here we are. Did I miss anything?â
