Places We Keep Our Sins

10 - Identity

"You're late."

Y/N wiped the sweat from her neck, tugging at her robes to dry the sweat dripping down her chest and back. She had miscalculated how long it would take to get from the High Temple to the eastern city temple, but she had no intention of telling Taehyung where she was coming from. The less he knew, the better.

"You should have started without me," she whispered back to Taehyung.

He frowned. "You know we can't do that. You're the lead."

"Then stop complaining and follow me."

Thankfully there were only four of them for this mission. Two lookouts while Y/N and Taehyung broke into the temple. The room they needed to get to was quite deep in the temple grounds, and the temple grounds were increasing the guards due to the rising presence of the Fallen.

"West side," Y/N whispered to Taehyung and the two others, whose names she had already forgotten. Lookouts were disposable. She pointed to one of them and then the other. "You. Take the lookout at the north gate. You. Take lookout at the eastern gate. Stay away from the front."

She spoke barely above a whisper, but they all seemed to understand. She hoped the lookouts would survive their duties. They seemed competent enough.

She nodded for Taehyung to follow her to the west side. His feet were light, and breath still. Combined with her stealth and agility, they were perfectly matched. Even Yoongi agreed - not even knowing that she and Taehyung had been friends for the last ten years.

And Yoongi could never find that out for both their sakes. No one could have any valuable relationships as a Fallen. Because if you did anything wrong, your closest were the first to reap the consequences.

Both she and Taehyung crouched low against the wall, peering around the corner to check for any guards or devoted followers of the Star Goddess. The wall was clear, save for a couple of large earthen pots for water and some trees with branches that hovered over the side. The trees were risky, but the earthen pots were too short and crumbled to hold any weight.

Y/N turned back to Taehyung and nodded to the tree limbs. He wrinkled his nose to signal that the leaves would give them away. She frowned at the pots to signal that they wouldn't hold their weight. His lips flattened. Y/N moved towards one of the trees. Taehyung followed close behind, allowing her to be the first to climb the tree. He grabbed her hips and hoisted her to the lowest branch. She took it, pulling herself up with grace to lay flat on it.

Still. One. Two. Three.

She climbed another branch.

Still. One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

Stealth required patience. That's why so many were poor at it.

She climbed further out on the branch, the bark digging into her chest and thighs.

Still. One. Two. Three.

She glanced down at Taehyung, who was crouched low against the tree stump. He glanced back up at her after a moment. She widened her eyes at him to remind him to be patient. He frowned but nodded.

She climbed out further, stopping again twice more before reaching over the side of the temple wall. It had always been odd to her that the followers of the Star Goddess would build walls so high, but now that she was a Fallen, she understood why they had put so much protection. The so-called good had to be more powerful than the so-called evil. Weak good could never overcome evil, her father used to say.

The main problem was determining which side was which. But when it came to survival, good and evil were no priority.

Y/N hung over the edge of the branch and dropped onto the temple grounds. There was nothing to hide behind. She grunted internally. With careful steps, she ran behind one of the temple buildings, flattening herself against the wall to wait for Taehyung.