Where Futures Begin (Saeran x Reader x Saeyoung) COMPLETED

VIII: Neutral Route (Luciel)

Luciel was the first one at (Y/N)'s side after she fell, shaking her body, desperately hoping that she was still conscious.

"The fall wasn't enough to kill her," Vanderwood murmured, his voice calm as he studied the girl where she had fallen. She had landed in a bush, the robe she had once worn now shredded but protecting most of her skin where it remained unpierced by the thorns. "Help me get her out, Luciel."

The two of them pulled her body up from the bush carefully, discarding the robe she was wearing, leaving it among the shrubs. In its torn state, there was no point in taking it with them.

"Let's leave her here. She's part of Rika's personal council, she's one of them," MC said, already walking away.

"No," Luciel blurted, picking her body up, "She was escaping when we found her, she's not on their side. And she helped us escape. If we leave her, she's as good as dead."

Vanderwood arched an eyebrow at the redhead, "Since when did you start caring about random girls you meet on missions?"

Luciel ignored the question, heaving the (Y/N)'s body over his shoulders, trying not to think about how his hand was resting on the bare skin of her back or how the dress she was wearing was riding up on her thighs. "What's with these outfits, MC? Was there some kind of party at the Mint Eye just now?"

MC turned around and watched Luciel with narrowed eyes as she saw him bringing (Y/N), "No. It's part of the uniform that Rika made us wear."

"Gotta say, this chick wears her uniform better than you," Vanderwood said, smirking. He never made any motion to hide his dislike for MC, and Luciel had to admit that his boss was right with that last comment. "Alright, here's the car. Luciel, text V and tell him that the rescue mission was a success."

Now it was Luciel's turn to arch his eyebrow. "A success?" He awkwardly wedged (Y/N)'s body into the back seat before taking his place in the front by Vanderwood, "We're bringing one extra back with us. The last time I did that, you wouldn't stop calling me a screwup, and all I did was bring a cat."

Vanderwood rolled his eyes and started the car, seeing that everyone was inside, "This girl is useful. You saw what she did back during the mission, the agency needs more people like her."

Luciel swallowed and made no comment, ignoring the anger he felt at Vanderwood's words. How could he send someone from an already fucked-up organization like the Mint Eye to an even worse place? The agency was for those who had no other options in life.

Surely this girl's life wasn't fucked up enough for her to turn to that?

Luciel glanced at (Y/N) in the rearview mirror, noting her bleached hair and tattoo. What other options could a girl like that have? MC said she was a council member, right? How far had she gone in the Mint Eye? And what went so wrong that she tried to escape?

Luciel pushed the thoughts from his mind, gazing forward as Vanderwood sped by the dirt road. The cabin they were heading to was far; far enough that the Mint Eye wouldn't be searching for them, but close enough to fix things if the rescue mission went wrong.

"Sleep now, Luciel," Vanderwood instructed.

Luciel knew the truer meaning to his words. You've got work to do when we get back. Still, he found himself able to close his eyes and drift off. It had been thirty hours since he last slept, he deserved a break.

***

When Luciel woke up, it wasn't to Vaderwood's voice. Or even MC's.

His eyes shot open, feeling strangely refreshed. Registering the picture in front of him, Luciel realized what must have happened.

Vanderwood let me sleep in? Luciel chuckled, amused. His boss must have felt sorry for him, after the craziness of the rescue mission. No doubt, they all thought they were done for until they heard (Y/N)'s voice over the loudspeaker. Hers was an impressively quick reaction time, Luciel noted with a hint of satisfaction, before stretching and pulling himself out of the car.