New Mask II

"Yeon hyung? Where is Jin hyung? "

Christian asked as he looked around the kitchen. It seemed that the dinner had already been prepared, and stored in the dishes with post its including their instructions written in the eldest's neat handwriting.

"You should have seen the group chat dumbass, hyung said he won't be home today. "

Taeil spoke, grabbing an apple before walking back to the hall.

"But wasn't he just discharged, shouldn't he be resting right now? "

Jaewoo was the one who asked this time.

Another one who doesn't open his messages.

Yeon shook his head before he spoke,

"Hyung told me today after the live that his friend had some situation and that he had to meet him. He'll be back by tomorrow. "

"Ahh okay. "

Christian hummed in agreement when Ryan was reminded of something.

"Yeon hyung, the call in the afternoon.. why did you think he must have begun taking missions right now? "

This was an expected question.

"I was on the live with him today and in between he got a notification. One that was a bit too similar to our Pager one. He switched it off quick though.."

Yeon shrugged as he answered.

"I don't think hyung would go for missions this early. Going on missions immediately after discharge seems a bit far fetched for that laid-back guy.. "

Christian laughed it off, taking the apple from Taeil's hand.

"That's what I'm worried about. I did ask him yesterday, but there was never a clear answer... "

"What do you mean?"

Taeil questioned again as he took a third apple from the kitchen, now that Jaewoo took his second one.

"Isn't that better then? I mean it's been ten years since he's been with us, isn't it good for him to climb a few ranks?"

Yeon briefly glanced at Ryan before speaking..

"I know it's not something bad, I just feel a bit unsettled. That's all. "

"I know what you mean, but I don't think you need to worry right now Hyung...he didn't do it for ten years, I don't think he'll throw his reason away that easily... "

"What do you guys mean? "

Cyril who had just returned home was utterly confused.

"Exactly, what do ya'll even mean?? "

Christian asked, raising his hands like a school student.

"It seems that Jin hyung might be going for ranking up. "

"What? "

Ryan's words surprised Cyril, who, like the other two had heard the conversation between Seojin and Alexis seven years ago.

"Then what about all that he said that day? And.. And today as well-"

"PAUSE!! "

It was Taeil, whose hands were raised just like Christian earlier, the expression on his face screaming about his confusion and inability to follow the conversation between the three.

"What did you hear? When did you hear? "

Ryan sighed before he speaking again.

"It was like 6 or 7 years ago I guess,, we ended up overhearing Seojin hyung and CEO talk.

Actually hyung purposefully doesn't rank up. "

"Ohhhh....wait what!? "

"Christian, let him speak, the flow of the conversation has to be perfect ? "

Taeil pulled Christian back to the seat from where he had abruptly sprung up earlier..

"You see, all we know is that hyung has some certain reason because of which he believes that it's better to stay in the lower ranks than climbing up. Even during that conversation they didn't really mention exactly what it was. "

"But other than that it seemed that Alexis was angry about something else as well, though I don't remember exactly what it was. . . "

Cyril continued in place of the the other.

"I don't know why, but I have feeling a certain someone might be involved in that case somehow... "

Christian's voice had none of the playfulness it had moments before as the face of a certain woman flashed in his mind..

"I guess so. And because we all ranked up, he was worried he wouldn't be able to be there for us when we needed him.

And yet he has maintained to stay focused on whatever reason he had. If it really was that woman, I'd like to have a nice talk with her someday..

And when we had heard last time, his only concern was the alliance using his name needlessly against us... "

"Just like they did this time. "

Jaewoo completed Cyril's sentence as he looked down.

When Alexis had asked them if they would do missions under Seojin's name to keep his record from falling off the Alliance's list, they had all agreed to it despite knowing how much the eldest would detest that happening. But it wasn't like they had any other way either..

Because any lower rank than what the man already had meant clear risks.

"Today, in that medical file, we had attached a small bug, we knew they'd want to talk alone. "

Cyril spoke again, his elbows on his knees, fingers entangled. This had been something only Ryan and Yeon, including himself had known. But now since the other three too knew about everything else, it didn't matter.

"But of course, Alexis destroyed it soon enough, the man's unnecessarily sharp." Yeon complained, even though he had expected it as much.

Ryan opened his laptop, playing the recording, and soon Alexis' voice played out,

~

They said the operation caused you to have a personality alteration? Pretty imaginative I must say.."

"True it seems so that I have. At least that's what I have summed up in the past few days. Even if not to my face, I have heard them talk about it. They say I used be like that and like this, that I never did this, or did that, behaved this way or that and so on...."

"Then what do you think? Are you any different?

"I don't know, I don't care, as long as I can remember I have always been like this. I heard my subconscious erased it in order to protect me. So if my subconscious went that far, why should i try to bring it back?. "

~

The members, hadn't known that their hyung had been studying their reactions this closely. The way he said he didn't care somehow stayed in their minds more than the rest of the words. It almost felt like a stranger speaking.

Alexis voice spoke again.

~

"But Seojin, what if your members want you back to how you were?" Alexis was now pacing around, looking at his decorated shelves while the latter was still facing the now empty table.

'I'd like to believe they'd ask of no such thing. I'd rather work on the present than bringing up something this trivial.

"Hmm.....memories. I was worried about your memories Seojin. . ."

"You don't have to worry about that. . . Even my subconscious failed to erase those . Though I'd have preferred if I could forget those."

"It seems so. And that's a good thing, I mean -"

"How many have they used my name for? "

"Beep-"

"There, that's all. "

Ryan shut down the laptop.

"Jin hyung would have easily guessed you were the ones doing the missions as we three were not on the field work.

Cyril reasoned as he looked at the others, speaking.

"Yeah. Now I feel even more that Yeon's worries might be true. Something's off. "

"He doesn't care... "

Jaewoo mumbled quietly..

"What? "

Christian asked again, having not heard at all.

Jaewoo looked up, eyeing each of the five sitting around him,

"He said he didn't care anymore. He doesn't care how he was or who he was before.

He said he... he didn't even want to know what kind of a person he was before..."

It was cold, the way he had said that he didn't care. It was cold. But somehow they felt like they couldn't approach him. It had always been like after all.

When it was them who were facing difficulties, Seojin would always be there for them. No questions asked. No judgements passed. He would always be there for them, as their strong emotional pillar, supporting them, consoling them, helping them in any way he could. But when it was his turn, he would lock them out.

And now it was even more harder. They didn't know what their hyung was going through.

And even if they did, then once again unless he himself allowed, they couldn't help him in any ways. And he would never allow them.

Seojin seemed to have gotten too used to always being the giving side, to always being alone in every situation. He had become so used to it, that when having it hard, his walls would come up without even him knowing, blocking out any help his members wanted to do.

And now, it seemed that this trait remained the same even after the accident. Maybe it even worsened.

"But that aside what did he mean by that ? "

Ryan broke the silence.

"Even my subconscious couldn't erase those memories. What does he mean?"

"Does he still hold memories about something? I didn't understand what he was referring to either..." Yeon agreed, silence and confusion enveloping the room once again.

* * *