A little before ten in the morning, Megan Campbell sat at the table with a mug of tea and listened to the muffled argument between her neighbors in the unit next to hers. Upstairs, the family seemed to have just woken up, judging by the sounds of the young child's sleepy footfall over her head.

Having lived in the Lieutenant Major's home on army bases for most of her life, there was something absolutely fascinating about being stowed away in an apartment unit inside a much larger building. She used to equate it to a human cubby hole, and sometimes when she woke up to her neighbors going about their business, it reminded her of the barracks her family stayed in now and then while her parents were both in active duty.

I could be living in a cardboard box. She often thought to herself. It would still be better than living with them…

On this particular morning, while Megan roamed around the sparse apartment, she thought about what the day would bring her. For now, things were in a state of limbo, worse off than if she actually was homeless. She resided in this borrowed apartment for as long as V was willing to pay for it, and with only a small income of both money and homemade goods as an English tutor, provisions were low.

The fridge boasted a half carton of eggs and some mayonnaise and ketchup, along with green onion and soy sauce, and if she was lucky, Mrs. Park's Tupperware container of shaved beef and rice cakes were still edible.

Her solution was quickly decided. As she closed the refrigerator door with her hip, holding the carton of eggs in one hand and the mayonnaise in the other, she set them down, quickly filling a small pot with water and setting it on the stove.

Egg salad, easy.

Her phone rang while the water boiled, and with a quick glance, she eagerly picked it up, seeing Jaehee's name and profile picture light up on the screen.

"Jaehee, how are you?" She asked.

"Good morning, Megan." She said. "I'm just getting ready for work and thought I'd give you a call. Is everything okay with the apartment? Mr. Han said he would wire you some money this morning."

Her immediate reaction was to decline it, to say it wasn't necessary, but she also knew that her egg salad would only last her so long, and after that, there wasn't much left. She also knew what she told them, that she was unemployed and trying to find a part-time job while she was in school. She managed to bluff her way through the days now, often keeping newspapers nearby, circling promising occupations and help wanted ads, a long list of phone numbers to call for interviews. Unfortunately, no one in their right mind would hire a barely legal immigrant on a dwindling education visa.

It wasn't uncommon for Jumin to wire her a bit of allowance to get by until she was on her feet, and she was grateful for the effort.

"Thank you, Jaehee," She said. "And I'll thank Jumin too." She smiled as she placed the eggs into the steaming pot, letting the first bubbles float upward.

"Everything here is fine," She added. "I hope you have a good day today!"

"Thank you, Megan," Jaehee replied. "Ah, looks like I'm here. I hope you have a good day as well. Excuse me…" She hung up right after, not even giving Megan a chance to say goodbye. But she didn't expect any different.

The members of the RFA had been so nice, Yoosung even mentioned a short time ago that they all made more of an effort to stick with the group, to communicate more. Even Zen, who had recently earned a short role in a movie and was now filming in Busan, never failed to send a good morning message in the group chat each day from his hotel room.

Megan yawned as she checked her phone. No texts, go group chats, no emails, nothing.

Maybe I should go shopping now… She thought. I can pick up some coffee, strawberry muffins for breakfast, maybe some kimchi to go with my egg salad for lunch.

She planned out a shopping list in her head while getting dressed, brushing her teeth, and tying her hair into a bun with some pins. It was Sunday, if she left now, she could beat the family crowds.

As she slipped into her sandals, the chime of her phone sounded in the air. She picked it up from the counter, flipping it in her hand, and seeing the notification for a new text message, Yoosung's shining face beamed at her next to the message he'd sent.

Kim Yoosung: Good morning, sweetie! Want to come over later?

She smiled into her phone, quickly sending back an affirmative response, along with a second text saying she was going to the store and asking if she should pick up anything for him. It was just a small gesture, but to her, it held more meaning. It was a domestic question, it reminded her of the years when her mother would go to the convenience store and pick up lunch for her father, bringing it to his office, and giving him a kiss on the cheek before she'd wrangle up her and her brother and leave the army base. It was her one fantasy, just to have someone to be domestic with, and to her delight, Yoosung was proving to be the man of her dreams.

Kim Yoosung: Ooh can you grab me a caffe latte and a bag of popcorn?

Megan quickly replied before closing her phone, slipping it into her pocket, and leaving the apartment.

The air was thick and hot today, normal for the midday in the middle of June. Megan sighed as she walked, pulling her hair into a ponytail and giving it a tug to stay in place as she walked.

Man, I cannot wait for October...

The street was crowded as it normally was, and with the recent influx of high school students out for the summer, her local convenience store was always busy.

The jingle as she entered was as peaceful a sound as any, and with a basket in hand, her eyes swept the short aisles, looking for small things to add to her diet.

It was a meager haul, but it was enough. With the addition of Yoosung's favorite kettle-cooked popcorn and a bottle of iced caffe latte with a Kpop idol's face on it, she was all set to go.

She knew her grasp of the Korean language was getting better, and the convenience store clerk constantly praised her for her efforts. Today he smiled, bowed his head, and asked her about her job search.

"I can always hire you here." He said in English.

"Really?" She asked, stunned back into her own tongue as well.

"Yes." He said. "But you'll have to speak hangu-ae if you're behind the desk."

Megan smiled as she handed him the total from her coin purse.

"Kahmsamnida," She replied.

"Have a good day!" He called back.

The air was only getting hotter, and she knew she'd need a shower and lighter clothes if she was going to travel to Yoosung's apartment after lunch. By the time she reached the corner, only two blocks from her apartment building, she patted her pocket, looking for her phone, when she realized it wasn't there.

Oh no…

She was quick to dash back in the direction of the shop, it was only a block away, and by the time she made it back, she fought to catch her breath, calmly opening the door and listening to the jingle overhead.

"Ah, there you are, Miss America!" The clerk smiled, holding up her cellphone behind the counter.

"Thank you!" She responded, quickly scurrying over to take it. The person who stood on the other side, paying for their order, nodded at her, casually lecturing her if the tone was any indication, she bowed her head, uttering out a quick apology.

"Somebody's missing you," The clerk said. "It's been buzzing like crazy in the last few minutes.

"Really?" She unlocked it, sliding past the cute background image of Yoosung's selfie to see an incredibly long list of missed calls, more than one from each member of the RFA, several texts, and an incoming call from Saeyoung.

"Oh!" She said. "I better go."

She quickly stepped outside, bracing herself for whatever emergency she was about to face, heart already flitting in her chest with anxiety.

"Yoboseyo? Oppa?"

"OH MY GOD! MEGAN ARE YOU OKAY?"

"Seven!" She gasped. "I'm fine, what happened?"

"Megan where are you right now?"

"I'm outside of the Mini Stop, I had to do some grocery shopping," She took a deep breath before her egg salad could reappear. "What's going on?"

"I just got an alert, the bomb in your apartment went off!"

The immediate shock felt the same as if she'd been there when it happened. She barely heard what Seven said next, unaware that it was because she clenched her phone in her fist and raced by with it at her side, and she barely felt it when her sandals slipped off her feet, barely heard the call of someone who was trying to tell her. The damage was visible from the corner where she impatiently waited for the pedestrian traffic light.

Thick black smoke billowed upwards, darkening the sky as if it came from a volcano. People had stopped on the sidewalks, phones raised to gather evidence, and as she got closer, she realized just how much ash was falling down, how many pieces of this dismal snow were once her clothes, her shoes, everything she'd had to her name?

She prayed everyone had gotten out in time.

The damage was far more gruesome than she could have imagined. Ambulances, fire engines, police, the scene was absolutely packed. People were being barred from crossing the line of authorities. Bodies were being wheeled away on gurneys, children were screaming and crying, mothers sobbing about those still inside.

Mrs. Park, her neighbor, and the little boy that Megan had been tutoring in English stood together. And she hurried over to them

"Ajumma!" She called. "Shin-ah!"

"Meg-ah!" Mrs. Park said, turning and opening her arms for her. Megan didn't have time to get another word in before her neighbor had her fully embraced, pulling her in tight.

"Miss Meg!" the little boy added, she nodded, dropping to her knees to give him a hug.

"Are you okay?" She asked, too scared to translate it into Korean before she spoke.

"Good!" He said. "We're good, Noona!"

Mrs. Park was now rambling to her in full Korean, and Megan caught a few words here and there, enough to gather what she was saying.

Words that stuck out to her like husband and work, let her know that there was no need to worry about Shin's father, the kind man who hired her to teach their son English.

"Jagiya!" She glanced up expecting to see someone else's partner calling for them, but instead she was met with that shocking blonde hair amidst the crowd and her heart leapt. It was Yoosung, he was red-faced, sweaty, but he hadn't run all the way from his college campus. He stood outside of a way too fancy car, but recognized it as one of Seven's 'baby cars', and from the open window she could see him, hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were flushed white.

"Oppa…" She whispered.

He ran to her with open arms, softly urging her forward, and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug.

"Megan, are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine." She replied. "I wasn't even here when it happened." He held her at arms' length, taking in the sight of her, casual clothes and her now bare feet, with the convenience store bag still clutched tightly in her shaking hand.

"Had I not left my phone, had I not gone shopping until later…I would've…" She trailed off, her words cut off by the swelling lump in her throat, fear replacing her voice, and a tremble racking her body. Yoosung was quick to react, firmly pulling her into him, one arm wrapping around her shoulders, the other cradling her head into his chest. His heartbeat drummed wildly, panic keeping him silent, afraid that he'd burst into tears if he said a single word.

It was supposed to be deactivated, removed even. It had been announced that Saeyoung and V would remove the bomb that week. It needed time to go completely dormant, to make it completely safe to remove. It had been three months since it was deactivated, Saeyoung swore that it was safe, it was as good as gone in regards to her safety. But now, here she was, standing beside him, shaking in fear as the flames rose higher. Thick black smoke rose from what must have been the eighth story, nine through sixteen having been blown to smithereens in the explosion. The fire must have started in the unit around hers. Yoosung figured. There was nothing in that apartment that could have combusted while she was gone. The bomb was reactivated due to the rising heat in the apartment, setting off and destroying the unit, along with the floors around it. To anyone else, it would just seem like a quick reaction and faulty electrical wiring. He bitterly realized once again how wickedly smart his cousin was, how she carefully constructed the bomb as a scare tactic. How if it did go off, it would look like a complete accident with no possible blame.

"You can't go up there!" A man yelled. Yoosung jumped like a startled cat, glancing up quickly, watching some teenager try to bypass the line of officers, sobbing that their little sister was missing.

It took a few moments before a voice echoed over a loudspeaker. Megan looked up, still safely trapped in his arms and he listened for her, knowing that she wouldn't be able to focus enough right now.

"We are still excavating the building from what remains. At this time we cannot confirm that everyone from the higher floors had made it out. We are searching for remains among the wreckage and we will have a more solid answer in a few hours. From what we can gather now, a wire short-circuited on the fourteenth floor and there may be nothing left up there."

"Nothing left?" Yoosung asked, keeping a firmer hold on his girlfriend who struggled in his arms.

"There was an explosion on the fourteenth floor! Please keep the distance of 100 meters from the building."

"Yoosung…" She whispered as she clung to him now. "It was the bomb in my unit. It's my-"

"No, Megan, It's not your fault," his voice was firm at first, shaking as he continued to speak, and as he pulled her close to his side, arms flexing as he held her tightly, he sighed. "It's V's fault." He nuzzled his forehead down on the top of her head, ruffling up her hair

"What am I going to do?" She asked. He didn't know what to say. It dawned on him now, that if the officer was correct, and there really was nothing left, she had nothing now. Not even a spare outfit after the clothes she was wearing, and he had no idea when she lost her shoes.

"Megan, come with me." He said. "Let's get out of here. Seven-hyung will get us somewhere safe."

She nodded into his chest and reluctantly followed as he led her away from the scene, away from the screams and tears of her neighbors, and into a new world full of uncertainty.

Megan hadn't seen Seven in person since the party two months ago. She never imagined she'd be huddled up with Yoosung in the back of his car, driving with no clear destination but to get away from the burned remains of her livelihood.

"Where are we going?" Megan asked after she'd taken to the app to assure everyone else she was safe.

"Let's go to my apartment." Yoosung said. Seven hopped off the nearest exit and drove down the residential streets, stopping in the parking garage connected to Yoosung's building.

He hadn't turned the car off, waiting until they were out of the back seat.

"See you guys," he said.

"Come inside, hyung." Yoosung said.

"It's fine." Seven replied.

"Please, oppa..." MC replied.

Seven ducked his head, defeated by the term, settling it on the top of the steering wheel for a moment before he nodded, turning off his car and taking out the key.

When he stood up, stretching his legs, he looked down into MC's face, silently staring at her until her eyes were looking up firmly into his.

"Megan…" He said. "I'm sorry...I-it… There wasn't…" He groaned, lowering his eyes and staring at the ground, just waiting for something above to smite him and end this pitiful excuse of an apology.

The girl before him, the one who he considered a good friend. Who he joked with, chatted with, even began to flirt with; who he hugged, who he couldn't imagine a life without...could have died today. Only saved because she was her usual forgetful self.

There were too many divine interventions that kept her here now, and each time, it was somehow his fault.

"I don't know what to say-" His words were suddenly cut off when she lunged at him, hugging him so tightly, he almost forgot how to breathe.

Her arms were tight around him, a comforting hug, squeezing out every self-loathing thought, every depressed, anxious, and hateful thing that could go through his head, vanished with his oxygen. He grabbed her shoulders, returning the embrace as he lowered his face onto her shoulder, taking in deep breaths along with the light scent of her shampoo. The tears pricked in the corners of his eyes, and his glasses fogged up at the same time as his chest tightened. This was familiar enough for him, a feeling that overwhelmed him now and again, when he felt guilty, when he felt sad, when every mistake he ever made came rushing into his mind, reminding him of just how unworthy he was of this life, of these friends who kept sticking around despite how many times he screwed up.

"Oppa." She murmured, soothing his trembling tears. "Please don't punish yourself for this."

"You won't…" He murmured into her hair. He brought up one shaking hand in a futile attempt at drying his eyes as the tears poured out like a gushing faucet.

She hadn't let go of him, and while he was grateful, he was keenly aware of Yoosung standing awkwardly before them, holding his house key and watching as these two squeezed the life out of each other.

He cleared his throat, drying his tears with the sleeve of his hoodie one more time and patted Megan on the shoulder.

"Let's go," He said. "I can't steal you from your man for too long."

Megan had only been to Yoosung's apartment twice in the last ten weeks of their relationship, and now as she placed the convenience store bag on the table, Yoosung went ahead and put the caffe latte in the fridge.

"Thanks, Jagiya." he said. "I almost forgot that I asked for these."

"I'm happy to do things like that." She replied. "My mom always did things like that for my dad when I was young, it was one of my better memories."

Yoosung smiled sweetly, holding the back of her head in one hand and pulling her closer for a kiss on the forehead.

Awkwardly in the corner of the apartment, Seven couldn't meet their eyes now. The feeling of infringing on their privacy only grew, even when Megan glanced back at him, leaving Yoosung's side and standing before him, trying to meet his eyes as he stubbornly stared down.

"If I hadn't done it…" He muttered. "If I had just convinced her it wouldn't work…" He was grumbling now, lost in the past, at the very moment Rika had asked him to plant the bomb. Manipulating him in the sweet way she had about so many other things. About living with her and V, leaving the only good family he'd ever known to attend a high-security Ivy League college for computer engineering, hacking, and then setting him up with the hacking agency he now worked for. The same sweet voice, the "Luciel-ah" that he heard time and time again, how he'd grown weak to it by the time she asked for the bomb.

"Saeyoung." She whispered. He was startled now, and the haunting left behind was dissipating.

No one else had ever called him by that name, and now he regretted ever confessing it to her.

"Oppa," She said. "I will never be mad at you for this, I will never judge you for doing what you were told to do." She brought her hand up, grazing the soft fabric of his hoodie, higher still, until she touched the peach fuzz on his jaw, holding her hand there and caressing his cheek with her thumb, gently clearing away another fall of tears, pulling him back into her arms and burying her face so hard into his chest that he could have sworn he felt her eyelashes fluttering through his shirt.

"I'm too scared to be angry…" She said. "But even then, you did what Rika told you to do, so I'm not going to get mad at you for that."

"It's so horrible," he said. "It was never supposed to work."

"I know…" She cooed.

"I'm just so glad...you're…" He trailed off, too choked up to finish the thought.

Just the word would make him break. His sanity was hanging by a string now, and he knew one word would make it snap.

His face fell, planted onto the top of her head, and the desire was so strong, so immediate, that he barely felt himself react, he barely had the time to think it, before his lips pursed against her scalp, leaving just a gentle and silent kiss there.

A lot of things didn't happen, he thought. Things he sometimes wished would have happened. When he sat at his computer desk at some odd hour of the morning or night, he never cared, illuminated only by the glow of the screens he worked on, he wished he'd been stronger, he wished he'd been more confident, he wished he could have told her how bad he had it.

He wished Yoosung hadn't interfered. He wished that he left him at that mountain with the crazed person who he thought was his brother, he wished he came back and made Megan his.

And that was when he hated himself more.

But he would never tell them that.

At times like that he'd flip it around, wishing himself dead, wishing to just end this cycle of suffering. Wishing he could be punished for being the terrible human he was, for how he failed his brother, his mother, his friends, and everyone he knew. He wanted peace.

And there she was.

He felt the corners of his lips lift with a small smile, feeling the warm soft skin of her fingers on his face, seeing such a bright smile below teary glimmering eyes.

"Don't ever forget, Saeyoung, you are the one who kept me safe, you and Yoosung risked everything to find the hacker, and you guys kept the RFA safe." She turned her head and nodded to Yoosung who approached slowly, placing a hand on her shoulder and smiled at him.

"I don't regret anything, Hyung," Yoosung said.

"And I don't either," She added. "I just hope you don't regret any of it too."

So much. He regretted so much of his life, so many of his decisions. But he'd never regret joining the RFA, never regret getting to know any of the members, he'd never regret getting to know MC, even if it hurt, no dark part of his brain would ever convince him that meeting these people was a mistake. He nodded silently.

"I don't," he said. "Thanks, guys."

"Hey hyung, stay for dinner," Yoosung said. "I'll order a pizza, I've still got some sodas in the fridge."

"Really?" He asked.

"Of course, dude." Yoosung replied.

"Will you, oppa?" Megan asked. His smile grew just a bit more as he nodded.

"I could never say no to you two." he said.

That night, Saeyoung sat down to a meal surrounded by people who cared about him. Something he hadn't done since he was a child. He smiled. He joked. He and Yoosung had a test of strength contest with the hot sauce, and at the end of it all, he felt himself relax the moment Megan rested her head on his shoulder as she dozed on Yoosung's couch.

He allowed himself to part from the sobering thoughts that normally kept him awake, he let his eyelids droop as his bowing head landed on top of Megan's as she drifted off on his shoulder. He listened as the sound of Yoosung's light snore faded from his consciousness, as the three fell asleep like a set of dominoes on the couch.

Except when he snapped awake around three am. Megan was still fast asleep on his shoulder, and with a careful stretch to loosen the tension in his back and neck, he shifted her carefully so she fell back against Yoosung. Standing up, he quickly found and pocketed his phone, tiptoeing to the door to slip into his shoes and cast one glance back at the sleeping couple. One more wistful look at the life he wanted, everything he could never have for himself. Everything he threw away the moment he was born

Maybe in the next life…