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| This is Izumi. I actually had an entirely different profile avatar for her in mind but for some reason, the game wouldn't consistently save it. But it took this one and I suppose it's rather fitting anyway. The lollipop reminds me that you've got to take her with a grain of salt. Irreverent is her keyword. |
Izumi is 20. She's sort of a runaway, but not exactly, because she didn't have much of anything to run away from. Maybe a better word is nomad. She grew up mostly in the foster care system. She has no idea if her mother is alive or not but she knows her father is -- but the last she heard of him, he was a drug addict or maybe worse. She hasn't seen either of them since she was about eight. She did finish high school, though she lied to Yoosung when she said she was a student. She's not attending university but she considers it just a white lie anyway -- she's a student of the world.
She is a quarter Japanese on her mother's side, hence the name (Izumi means "spring" or fountain"). She wants to go to Japan someday and has been saving up money for that. She knows that she has some family there but she's not even sure she wants to look them up. It's not as if they ever reached out to her.
She moves around a lot and is new to the city. She thought it was a bit of luck that led her to Rika's apartment and the RFA. Maybe she can make some connections through these people, save up some money. She'd spent her first night in the city sleeping on a bench in the train station. Rika's is definitely better than that, but the place does give her a bad vibe. It's kind of sterile and cold.
She's always used humour as a deflection shield. She's cultivated a shield of weirdness and jokes. Not that she's had much to laugh about in her life, but if you present that kind of face to the world, people don't tend to look too deep to see what's underneath. She doesn't like getting too close to people. She doesn't usually stay in one place long enough anyway. She left her last job waitressing because one of the other servers kept asking her out. He was a nice enough guy but too persistent and, quite frankly, too normal. He was a student, like Yoosung, and had taken her jokes as flirting.
She recognises a lot of herself in Seven, which is what first attracted her attention to him. She could be as weird as she wanted to be and he didn't mind; in fact, he seemed to like it. Everyone else seems quite square and normal. Zen, of course, is ridiculously attractive but she finds him more comic than anything. She's been tempted so many times to say outrageous things to him just to see what he would say back. He gets flustered so easily. Jaehee seems to her like a mother, not that she really knows what that's like. But she feels warmly towards her. She's really the first woman that has treated her decently that she can think of. Izumi's pretty, in a fragile kind of way--delicate skin, long dark eyelashes, very slim (possibly partly because of how irregular her meals often are when she's low on money -- the RFA's preoccupation with asking her if she's eaten yet is something she finds both endearing, odd, and comic). But her looks have made a lot of other girls jealous of her compounded by the fact that they never seemed to be able to get past her shield. So she usually hides herself under a hoody and jeans, except when she's by herself. Safer traveling that way, anyway. She finds Yoosung to be really funny and so very, very normal. Like nothing bad has ever happened to him, not really. He has parents who love him. He has the luxury of being completely obsessed with gaming and being a student without having to even think much about his future yet. Sure, he's nice, but she feels like she is looking at a fluffy bunny kept in captivity. He doesn't know what the real world is like. Jumin is just weird. She has to restrain herself from teasing him. She actually thinks he was trying to be kind to Yoosung when he calls Yoosung's mother on him. Like Jumin is the Daddy of the group.
She's not afraid of lying. She's also not overly concerned about her own safety. Things either work out or they don't. That's the way life is.
As the days went on, she found herself more and more intrigued by Seven. More so than any other person she's ever met. She kept putting off her original plan to bounce out of there in a few days and move on because she kept wanting to see what he'd say next. Then the big bomb scare and the hacker threatening her and Seven comes running in like some kind of frantic Quixotic knight -- and she blurted out that she loved him. What the hell was that? Why in the world would she say such a thing? Maybe that was why Seven had been so distant since he arrived. And, of course, the fact that the hacker was his brother...she didn't feel bad keeping that a secret from the others. She had her own secrets. But the Seven that was here in front of her...was he really the same man that she had been talking to on the phone? She kept calling him, just to hear his voice, so she could watch him and see if he was really in there...because this Seven in front of her wouldn't even look her in the eyes. Why did that make her feel so lost? Her, the girl who was always aimlessly lost on purpose? For heaven's sake, she'd even pretended to be afraid of a stupid cockroach to get him to stay a little longer...to get him to hold her hand. No, she wasn't afraid of lying, but now she wondered what, exactly, was she lying about and why?
She'd even made him dinner and breakfast but he'd made such a big deal out of wanting her to leave him alone to work that she hadn't wanted him to think she'd gone out of her way. So she'd actually made some homemade noodles and then served them to him in an instant noodle cup. He'd eaten them, though, and that made her glad. It was weird to be looking after someone when normally she only had to worry about herself.
Now she was concerned he was going to leave again and she'd never be able to figure out what she was feeling, what this unsettled emptiness inside her was about. And she was worried about him. Would the agency come after him? What was his wild-eyed brother going to do? Was he in danger? She should just leave. Move on. She knew that. It was strange. She'd never been worried about someone else before. She'd always just been on her own. But he didn't seem to have anyone else to worry about him.
Update...morning of Day 9...All of the above was basically end of Day 7/beginning of Day 8...
Yeah. Okay, I give up. I have to just walkthrough this completely now because there's no way that Izumi would make it past Day 8. It's not so much how Seven is treating her (though it is that too) but the stupid things the MC has to say and do. Yes, each route has had their share of moments where you have to completely suspend disbelief...but...this is the first route where I couldn't work out some kind of character justification in my head. Not even coming up with a completely different character works for me. The MC has no choice but to act like an absolute idiot and/or petulant child. Seven even calls her an idiot at one point in one of the visual novel sections and, yeah, I'm with you. It wouldn't have mattered what choice you picked...she was just acting stupid. And it's not just one bit. There's a lot of bits. And it isn't until Day 9 in the morning (when the MC is asleep so she can't even hear it, though I suppose you could say that she was just pretending to sleep and actually heard what he had to say) that you get a hint that Seven's actually really truly got some feelings for her and is feeling conflicted because mostly he's been a raging asshole since he arrived at the apartment.
So...to finish up our poor Izumi's story...I think she would leave during Day 8. There's a phone call from Seven at one point where he calls because the MC has left the apartment (which, come on, is one of the idiotic things she does...she knows there's a freaking crazy hacker person with a personal vendetta out there who knows exactly where she is and what she looks like). I think this is when Izumi would leave and here's how it would happen:
Is it The End?
Izumi hefted her backpack as she softly shut the door behind her. Seven had been so busy working that he hadn't even noticed that she had packed her few belongings in her battered bag and left the apartment. He was a wreck. She could see that. And even though he didn't want to admit it, she couldn't help feeling responsible. If she hadn't downloaded that app...if she hadn't blindly gone where the hacker had led her...none of this would have happened. And not only had she inadvertently started it all but now she was only making it worse.
She cared about him. She had realised that much, at least. She'd been thinking about it all morning -- should she stay? Would it help him if she stayed? But it had become more and more obvious to her that staying only put him in more danger. From the agency. From his brother. Maybe if they had met at a different time or under different circumstances...no, she couldn't think about it anymore. It was better if she left. She wanted him to be safe.
But she couldn't just disappear on him completely. He'd probably imagine the worst, that Saeran had somehow captured her. She'd written a note but hadn't left it in the room because she didn't want him to notice right away.
She walked down the stairs so he wouldn't get an alert about the elevator being used and went to the convenience store across the street. It took some convincing, but she managed to pry a bag of Honey Buddha Chips from the clerk. She opened a corner of the bag and stuck her letter inside and went back to the building for the last time.
She was about to leave the bag in the elevator when her phone rang. Oh. It was Seven.
"Where are you? Where did you go on your own?" He took a deep breath. "You were so quiet I thought you were asleep...I had to check the security feed on the hallway to see that you left." He sounded upset. He sounded tired. "That was 7 minutes ago. I didn't realize that you'd left for 7 minutes...What if something happened in that time?"
Ah, he had noticed after all. She'd thought she'd have more time. "You didn't answer me. I didn't want to bother you." Not that she'd actually said anything, but it was true enough for him to believe it. He'd been ignoring her as much as he could all day.
"If you felt that frustrated staying inside, you should have just taken off my headphones and made me listen to you...Are you mad that I was ignoring you?" He was going to lecture her again, wasn't he? Like she was an idiot. Did he really not see that all she wanted was for him to be okay? "You do realize how dangerous the situation is right now, right? How could you leave on your own even when you know a hacker is after this place? Some strange person could have been waiting outside to kidnap you."
She sighed. Of course she knew that. She had carefully monitored the CCTV before she'd left and put on her most concealing clothes. The hoodie hid her face and she'd tied back her hair. And she'd kept the mace she had for protection in the front pouch, just in case. But she couldn't say any of that.
"Where are you?" asked Seven.
"I'm waiting for the elevator downstairs. It's almost here." It wasn't a lie.
"...I should have put a GPS tracking device on your clothes. Oh...I brought a couple here."
She knew. She'd taken one, though she hadn't turned it on. He'd been so self-absorbed that he hadn't even noticed that what she'd been reading online had been about how to use the devices. They weren't that complicated, really.
"Give me your jacket when you get back so that I can attach it. Why in the world did you leave?"
"I wanted to get you some Honey Buddha Chips to make you feel better." The best lies were half truths.
"...You don't need to care about me."
Too late, Seven. She put the bag of chips inside the elevator, pressed the button, and stepped back out before the door closed. She left the building and hurried down the street. The bus was just pulling up and she hopped on, glad for a bit of luck. She sat down in the back, hugging the phone to her ear under the hoodie. She wanted to hear every last word.
"I told you to leave me alone just to work...Why didn't you listen to me? Hurry back inside..."
Now he was telling her about the sandwiches he'd made for lunch. It was obvious he'd made three different kinds so that she'd have something she'd like, but, like normal, he was denying it. Saying it was all for him. She smiled a sad smile. He never really thought about himself, did he?
"Oh...I just heard the elevator. You're on it, right? I'll be waiting in front of the door. I can't focus until I see you...Hurry."
He hung up. She stared at the phone a moment and then turned it off. She flipped it over and took out the SIM card. Then she put on her headphones and turned up the music as loud as she could stand it as she stared out the window as the bus went down the road.
***
It was a bag of Honey Buddha Chips. What were they doing there? There was something sticking out of one corner. He picked up the bag and opened it all the way. There was a letter inside.
He let the elevator doors close behind him and the elevator began to descend. With one hand he dialed his phone and with the other he unfolded the letter. It rang once and then..."The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone or try again." Had she turned off her phone? What was going on? He'd literally just talked to her! Had Saeran come? The elevator opened and he ran outside, startling a pigeon. There was no one there. No sign of Izumi.He ran back upstairs. She wasn't in the stairwell. She wasn't in the apartment. He checked the CCTV footage and saw her leaving the building, her head down and...her backpack? She had her backpack? He looked around Rika's apartment. Her things...all her things...were gone.
He looked down at the letter still crumpled in his fist and flattened it out. It was from her. He stood in the centre of the room, forgotten Honey Buddha Chips scattered around his feet, and read it.
My Dearest Saeyoung,
It feels strange to call you that, but it also feels right. You are also My Seven. My Luciel. My Defender of Justice!
I'm sure you've figured it out by now that I've gone. You're the smartest person I've ever met. I'm sorry to leave this way and there's a part of me that doesn't want to leave at all because I love you. There. I said it. I love you, Saeyoung.
I'm sorry I didn't get to say that to you face to face. I've never loved anyone before. I know you looked into my background when I first came, though I don't know how much words on a screen can tell you about a person. You probably know where I went to school and who my parents were and how my mother died and what care home I grew up in...but those are just words, right? Those are just facts about me. Those words didn't show you my heart.
I have left because I love you. I hope you can understand that. More than anything, I want you to be safe and happy. I don't want to be a pawn that your brother or the organisation he is in can use against you. I don't want to cause you pain. You can leave the apartment now and the bomb behind. Go home or somewhere else. Wherever you are safest.
I don't know why or how they chose me. Did he know what would happen or was it just chance? I don't know. But I don't regret it, because I got to meet you and love someone for the first time. I can't even say that I loved my parents. Isn't that sad? Maybe I did, when I was a baby, but I don't remember it. Thoughts of them are just empty holes in my heart but thoughts of you...I'm glad I love you. Not just my happy, silly 707, but you.
I hope that you find your brother, but I hope that you are careful. What am I saying? Of course you'll be careful. Please rely on Jumin and the others. I don't know if you can trust V. I hope there's an explanation there, but I don't know. But I do know that I'm not the only one that loves you. They each love you in their own way and they will help you if you let them.
I am sad that the most helpful thing I can do is leave, but it's the one thing I have control over. Please don't worry. I'm not helpless or stupid. I have not led the sheltered kind of life that Yoosung has. I can take care of myself.
I don't know if the party will happen or not, given the way things are, but I forwarded all the guest information to Jaehee. Please tell them all goodbye for me. I have deleted the Messenger app and shut off my phone. By the time you read this, I will be on my way. To where? I can't say.
I hope that we can meet again someday.
I love you.
~~Izumi
P.S. Do you remember the story of Hansel and Gretel and how they left breadcrumbs? Such a silly thing to do, right? The birds stole them away. But some breadcrumbs last longer, don't they?
Seven sat down right there on the floor. She was gone. She loved him. She was trying to protect him when all he had wanted to do was protect her. He--he didn't know what to do. He hadn't had time to put the tracker on her. Why hadn't he done it sooner? Why had he pushed so hard?
There was a notification beep from his laptop. He looked over at it dully. A tracking beacon had been activated? He grabbed his laptop and zoomed in. The tracker blipped twice more, moving north on 43rd Street, and then stopped. Wait. He rifled through his bag. How many trackers had he brought with him? Four, right?
There were only three left. Three? He thought about what she had said about breadcrumbs. Izumi. He tried to turn the tracker back on but two way communication had been disabled. How had she known to do that? Where did 43rd Street go? He opened up the map and searched. The main bus station was on that route but the nearest train terminal was nearby as well. He leapt up, ready to run there if he had to, when his laptop beeped again. One of the programs he'd kicked off earlier had finished. He hesitated. What should he do? Then his phone rang and he answered, hoping it was her, but it was Vanderwood.
***
So, yeah. I think Izumi turns on the tracker every now and then, sometimes once a day, sometimes only once a week. Imagine Seven leaping to his laptop whenever he hears a notification and the map in his head updating with the new data as each little blip appears. A blip in Busan. A week in Seoul. Nothing for a while and then a month with dots all over Gwangju. Then a surprise as she pops up in Nagasaki. Yoosung gets a postcard every now and then. Jaehee receives some surprise flowers. Zen a kabuki mask from Tokyo. Jumin a cat toy. Seven periodically gets strange little packages with random things that make him laugh but also tear up.
Does Seven solve all his Mint Eye problems and find his brother and they reconcile? I hope so. Does V finally reveal all his secrets? I doubt it. Perhaps Seven's mother is dead. Perhaps his father loses his "real" family in an accident (perhaps even one caused by Mint Eye, who knows). Perhaps he doesn't and lives on, oblivious and safe and powerful. But I hope karma bites him in the ass. Does Seven get out of the agency? Maybe. I don't know. I certainly hope so.
Ideally, a year or two passes. Izumi turns the tracker on one day and forgets to turn it off. Maybe on purpose, maybe not. She's in Jeju-do, which is on a South Korean island off the coast. She's working at a resort there, one of the beach-y places full of rich tourists. She's cut her hair a bit shorter. And one day...
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, so I'm on Day 10 of the route now (having used the walkthrough, though I could mostly guess at the correct answers). It did improve. It was mostly Days 7 and 8 that I really wanted to bang my head in. And there are some sweet calls and moments (that I'd totally love to extrapolate out if I had the time to do it, but I don't as I've got two school visits next week for Book Week) in late Day 9 and Day 10. But I still stand by my ending for Izumi because I think she'd have had to leave at that point. Like I said before, every route has those bits that are hard to get through. I just found Seven's to be the one where the MC really has to shut off her brain and her heart to get through those parts and I couldn't do it with Izumi.
Yeah, I get too attached. Not that I haven't killed characters in my books before. But, you know.
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