Reality is Twofold- Pt. 4
A/N: I would like to clarify that everything written in this story is complete fiction and isn’t to be taken as a true portrayal of reality. Honestly… I love this request! It really pulled me in and was like ‘this is how you’re going to write it!’ This is the fourth part, you can find the link to the first three parts (as well as my masterlist links) in the notes. This is the final part!
Request: Yes, hello. I’m coming on anon for this request merely because I’m too shy, but I’d like to request a one shot or scenario - whichever you prefer, please :’) Female reader, any POV that you prefer, with Winner’s Mino, and for the trope - angst/smut, annnnnnnnd a mafia au if you’re okay with that, please and thank you. I’m so sorry if this is a lot; I don’t ever request fics, but I love your writing too much uwu
Word Count: 2,489
Genre: Angst, Mafia AU
*****WARNINGS: Blood, Mentions of Death, Violence (?), Gore (?)*****
Clothes strewn over the floor joined by numerous belongings, furniture slightly askew from panicked movement. My apartment looks like someone raided it, just leaving things knocked over and slightly damaged in their wake. However this wasn’t caused by another person, rather it’s a mess I’ve created in my panic. A frenzy that couldn’t be contained, not that I even bothered to try. If anyone else had just been through that there’s no way they could manage to calm themselves down. No, a jumbled brain operating with frayed wires would be natural after witnessing that.
Blood still covered my shirt and, despite having washed my hands until they turned red, it even remained under my nails. It’s been hours since Juwon died in my arms yet it only feels like minutes. Like it was a terrible nightmare, something I might wake up from and everything would be okay. But at the back of my mind I know it’s real. He’s dead and there’s nothing I can do about it. My only option is to run. Run and hope that they won’t look for me. It’s unlikely they’ll let me go without a fight, anyone who knows anything about the family and isn’t with them is considered a threat. Even if I’ve spent my entire life doing everything in my power for them, it wouldn’t matter once I left- I’d only be a target.
A harsh knock sounded at my front door. Eyes wide, I lurched forward scrambling to hide my duffel bag before answering the door. It ended up haphazardly shoved in the small linen closet by the living room. I was slightly breathless when I answered the door, hair frazzled and puffy eyes showing the state of disarray I was in. Out of all the people I expected to show up, it wasn’t him. But I couldn’t help but feel my guard crumble a bit just seeing the expression on his face. A mix of sympathy and worry.
“Mino… What-.” I tried to whisper but my voice broke before I even finished my question.
He stepped forward and pulled me into his arms, his voice soft when he spoke. “I heard about your brother and I got worried.” He pulled back slightly, cradling my face in his hands while looking into my eyes. “I needed to make sure you weren’t hurt.”
Fresh tears stung my eyes. “Not physically.”
Mino released me, fully stepping into my apartment to shut the door. As he turned back around his eyes widened upon seeing the state of wreckage that’s currently my apartment. “What happened? It looks like a tornado swept through here.”
“N-Nothing happened. I just… I’m really upset.” I murmur quietly avoiding his gaze.
“Okay, well I’m not leaving any time soon,” He replies. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be on your own right now.”
“I thought you wanted nothing to do with me anymore.” I stepped away from him slightly, anxiously looking at him.
Mino sighs and steps closer to me, his hand reaching out to tip my chin up so that I look at him properly. “Just because I’m upset with you doesn’t mean I stop caring about you. I hate that you’re in pain, that you’re hurting, and I especially hate that there’s not much I can do about it. Something I can do though, is to keep you company. By not letting you cry and wallow on your own.”
The last strings that were holding me back from fully breaking down snapped. Next thing I know his arms are wrapped around me while my face is buried in his shirt, tears soaking the fabric. Gentle words spoken softly into my hair, hands drawing circles on my back. I don’t know how long it took for him to fully calm me down, only that it was longer than it seemed. And when I finally pulled away from his embrace the need to forget overwhelmed any other emotion. Just something, anything that would make me forget what I’d witnessed. This urge is what led me to kiss him. Hoping that maybe, just maybe, delving into a physical encounter could erase the memory for a while.
Except I was stopped. Mino pulled back from me, his eyebrows furrowed. “What are you doing?”
“I want to forget,” My hands clutch at his shirt, trying to bring him closer. “Please, please help me forget. Just for a little while.”
He sighs. “It won’t help. I’m not going to sleep with you when you’re like this,” His voice was filled with an unwavering determination. “I won’t take advantage of you when you’re in such a vulnerable state. I’ll help you through it, but not like that. The next time I sleep with you, it’s going to be when your mind is clear and I know that it’s something you truly want. Not something that just happens spur of the moment when you’re caught up in the adrenaline rush or when you’re trying to forget something.”
“But-.”
Mino cuts me off. “No, what you need right now is rest. I’m going to make you some tea, then you’re going to climb into bed and go to sleep. Alright?”
I hesitate until I see the look in his eyes that’s daring me to disagree. “Alright.”
“What is this?” Mino’s voice rumbled lightly.
Sitting up, I blink at him wearily, brain foggy from waking up suddenly. Confusion filtered across my facet. “What is what?”
He tosses something onto my bed. “This.”
I rub my eyes before turning my focus onto the thing he tossed onto my bed. My mouth parted in shock as I saw my duffel bag filled with clothes and essentials. Although it’s pretty obvious what it’s for, the need to deny it was at the forefront of my mind. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”
Mino looks at me suspiciously, an eyebrow raised in disbelief. “Really? So if I were to unpack everything that’s in here you wouldn’t be upset?” He pauses for a second, taking a deep breath. “What were you thinking? If someone else had come and found this you’d be in danger. How could you put yourself in that situation?”
The tone of his voice made my lower lip quiver and my eyes begin to tear up. Upon seeing the genuine concern in his face under the mask of anger and frustration, I felt my already damaged walls start to crumble. “I…” Mino reached out and gently grasped my hands. “I can’t do it anymore.” Sobs wracked my body. “It- it’s too much! All the people I’ve watched die because of this stupid way of life. I can’t watch someone else I love die, I just can’t.” My voice cracked on the last sentence and I averted my gaze from him.
“Hey, shh,” He soothed, moving to pull me into his arms. His hand smoothed down my back continually as I cried into his chest. “It’s okay.”
These walls I had up were never meant to bear this much pressure, having them collapse was inevitable. Though I don’t think they could have fallen in the presence of a better person. He held me until I calmed down, the tears and hiccups silenced. Despite the panic simmering deep within my being, he has such a calming effect.
“Are you going to stop me?” I ask softly, hands clenching the back of his shirt.
“No,” Mino replied in the same manner. “But I’m not letting you go alone, I’m coming with you.”
I pull my head off his chest to look at him. “Why?”
He didn’t speak for a few minutes. “Did you know I’ve been in love with you for years? You’ve always been so tough, like nothing could ever bother you or get past your shell. But even the toughest person has their vulnerabilities, those moments where they aren’t as strong, and they need someone to lean on. I want to be that person for you.” Sincerity shone in his eyes. “And I know I can be, if you’d only let me.”
I’m tired. Tired of fighting. Tired of holding myself back from people. Tired of pretending not to care when that’s all I ever seem to do. Tired of letting fear rule my life. And so I said something that I never would have imagined myself saying. Although, I didn’t say it loudly, it was quiet, hushed. “I’ll let you be that person.”
Yet somehow he heard me. “Thank you.”
At the time I didn’t know what I was agreeing to, but after a few days to calm down and look back on what I had planned, it was clear I hadn’t been about to make the best decision. I would’ve acted rashly and gotten myself caught in days, if not hours. I would have ended up dead. Letting Mino become the person I could rely on, the person I could be true and honest with, was the right call. He even came up with a plan. It was one that would take time, a long haul of sorts. However, I knew it would be worth it, no matter how long it took.
Step 1: Convince everyone we were dating seriously, so that the logical conclusion would be for us to move in together. Of all the parts of the plan, this was one of the longest. For months the two of us had to be seen together almost constantly, glued to each others sides in a sense. It was difficult though, after the boss, Mino’s father, found out that we were seeing each other, he tried to put a stop to it. Claiming that he was in the process of setting up an arranged marriage for him, one that would be good for the family.
Upon hearing this Mino became infuriated, yelling and threatening his father, all while I sat quietly in a chair, staring at the ground. When I was asked how I felt about hearing that, my thoughts turned to how everything would be meaningless and that I’d never make it out. My answer was only truth, albeit not the entire truth. “My life would be ruined without him.” And it would be, if I’m being completely honest. I haven’t been in the right mindset after Juwon died. I mean, how could I be? My younger brother died in my arms, all because I didn’t get us out of there in time. It was my fault.
Step 2: Move in together. While it might seem that this would be a big step, it was relatively simple if you factor in the difficulty of the remaining steps. A small house on the outskirts of the city was obtained, it was quaint and adorable. It actually felt like it could have been home, a perfect one at that. If only it didn’t have to hold such a dreadful future. I almost felt bad for the poor house. Almost.
Step 3: Acquire fake IDs, passports, and birth certificates. Again, this was another particularly simple task, seeing as we both had some shady contacts. Though some extra finagling had to be done in order to work with someone who had no idea who we were. If we worked with someone we knew through the family, it would be easy for them to figure out what we did if they talked. And getting caught isn’t part of the plan.
Steps 4 & 5: Slowly liquidate our assets and purchase explosives. Now, the explosives probably seem pretty questionable. However, these are a vital part of our plan. Well, maybe I should say his plan, because it is his plan. Despite it being my idea, or rather, need, to leave, I didn’t exactly help with the planning process. Except financially, since that’s my area of expertise. Back to step 5, the explosives were meant for our house. Yes, the small quaint home we moved into would be blown up at the end of our plan.
Step 6: Wait for the perfect cadavers. This is probably the worst step, as well as the longest. Since neither him nor I wanted to have anymore blood on our hands, we had to wait until bodies that would match our basic descriptors showed up. It was difficult to say the least, since we were completely on our own for this one. On multiple occasions I had to pass myself off as a student from a University that had a body farm, asking after those who’ve died and donated their bodies to science. Once my false identity was accepted, I was informed by a coroner about two hours away- her name was Lucille- that if anyone came up with the specifics I’d listed, she’d call to let me know.
Months. We waited for months. And at the most unexpected time, Lucille called. Two people found dead, due to a poisoning, matching our descriptors. Meaning the last step would be put into action tonight. While Mino went out to collect them, I would stay behind and set everything up.
Explosives were set up in every room of the house. Our bags were packed, stuffed with essentials and meaningful mementos. It was set up to look like we’d been targeted as a hit. Surely there would be fallout due to our chosen method, but every other method had more faults. Faults that could lead to us, which was something that couldn’t happen. This was the culmination of everything we’d been preparing for. The final step. The end to it all.
Two hundred feet away our house was on fire. The flames a dark orange, reaching out towards the night sky. Smoke billowed out of the broken windows, the house creaking in a plea for aid- something it would not receive soon enough to be saved. Most people would be in despair upon seeing their home ablaze, though I guess by now it’s obvious I’m not like most people. I felt an overwhelming sense of relief. An enormous weight lifted from my shoulders, and the autonomy that came along was astounding.
“Come on,” Mino tugged at my hand, bringing my attention to him. “Let’s go before the first responders get here.”
I blinked at him, a smile slowly working itself on my face. Fire danced in my eyes as I glanced back at the house. “Most things fire touches, it destroys. But for me,” I whisper softly, gaze focused on the tendrils of the flames twisting in the air. “It has brought freedom.”
Most lives only have one part. Not everyone realizes they can change their paths. To some it seems predetermined, as if they have no choice. We all have a choice. Reality has more than one side, it is twofold. Actually no, it’s boundless in the sides it holds. Fear, that which tends to hold us back, can only be overcome once it’s realized that fear itself is the enemy. There is no freedom where there is no choice.