(Alright, so Jade, I'm not going to make a definitive post until I know that you're ready and have character related stuff together. Until then, I'm going to be working on where things will start. Also, just a reminder, I strongly suggest having more than one or two characters.)

[Viktor]

"Uh...Vik? Vik? VIKTOR!"

"Huh?" Viktor blinked a few times, shaking his head slightly.

"Stop fuckin droolin' in place my man, what are ya, high?"

Viktor scratched behind his ear casually as he answered, a bit of annoyance in his tired voice. "Nah, man. C'mon, you know I quit that a long time ago." He let out a yawn as he looked over at his friend, Trevor.
Trevor was a bearded twenty-four year old tattoo artist that he had met after his first few months in Florida after he had gotten around to knowing a little about the place. Trevor was also a pothead that never seemed to stop smoking, even if it was his own supply. Because Trevor, was also a "part-time" seller. Which was also convenient for Viktor, since he was also a heavy pothead around that time himself.

"Coulda fooled me," Trevor shrugged, stroking the fluffy large bush of black that was on his face. "Cmon, ya been spacin' out like you've been on cloud 9 laughin' with fairies for the passed couple days. Also, gonna eat that?" He asked, pointing a fork at the blueberry bagel that was still sitting on Vik's plate.

Vik's eyes narrowed. "Bitch, you touch my shit, and ima flip this table on you."

"Alright alright, damn my boi chill," Trevor laughed a little. "Anyways, hows that shit car? Still runnin'?"

"Runnin'? Hah, more like walkin'," Vik answered as he picked up his bagel and took a bite out of it before talking while chewing, covering his mouth some with the back of his hand. "I think my gasline's fucked."

"See? I toldja ya should've been got a new one!" Trevor pointed out, reminding him yet again. "Keep on and that damn things gonna a blow a fuse. Or worse, some Final Destination type shit happens while your on the highway."

"Oh not this shit again." Vik groaned.

"Imma keep sayin' it til you get a new one!" Trevor vowed. But then he paused. "Hey, ya hear about what happened down in Lando?"

Vik paused for a moment in thought, taking another bite from his bagel before nodding. "Talkin' bout that stuff with the family that basically got blew up?"

"Hell yeah, that's it. My cousin, ya know the one that's on the force or whatever? The one with the sappy ass face?"

"Who, Jarred?" Vik questioned, watching as Trevor nodded and let him know that that was the person.

"Yeah. I talk to him the other day. Said it looked like somebody swallowed a bomb or somethin'." Trevor leaned back in his chair a little. "I hope they catch the nutjob that did it."

"Yeah...hopefully." Vik agreed, of course. But he couldn't help but to feel like something was off. Like the entire incident had happened to make some sort of point. Send a message to someone. But he kept that to himself.

~

[Jackline]

"Girl yes! It was a sideways fight to get it, but they finally said yes and let me take the story!" Jackline couldn't help but to grin as she drove her Avenger down the highway, her foot easing down further on the gas pedal as she was preparing to switch lanes.

"You go head girl yaaaaass! I toldja that they was gonna give yo ass the story ain't it? Didn't I?!"

Jackeline rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop grinning. "Yeah, yeah. You did," she admitted.

"Heeeyy, go getcho monaaaye! Where you at now?"

Jackline was laughing as she answered. "Uh, hold on, lemme see," She dared to take her eyes from the road to look to her phone, which was displaying the GPS that was running on google maps. Her phone was connected to her cars radio via aux. "I'm on I-95 right now. It says that I should be in Jacksonville in thirty minutes.

"Damn girl, get it now! Once you hit Jacksonville then it ain't gonna take nothing but three hours to get down here to Orlando!"

"I know! I can't wait to see you!" Jackline said exclaimed, almost hopping in her seat a little. The seven hour drive from the Carolinas was a long and tiring one. However, not even that could stop the excitement that she felt when it came to seeing one of her best friends from college.

"Oh, hey Jacky, my phone finna die. Imma see you when you get here okay?"

"Definitely! I'll try to hurry my little ass up."

"YOU BETTER! Bye giiiiiirrrl!"

"I'll see you when I get their Mickey! Save me some of that pumpkin pie you made!"

"You better get the damn ingredients then cuz this ain't no bakery booboo."

Jackline found herself rolling her eyes again. "Alright, I'll remember that before I get there. Bye!" And with that, she hung up the phone, finding herself chuckling some still.

"And so I told my husband that if I ever saw him chit-chatting with Linda again at work, I would immediately break ties with him despite her now MyStERiOuSLy upgrading to his secretary." A middle-aged woman yapped into her phone. But then she cringed and yelped, her blue eyes glaring into the brown ones that accidentally poked her cuticle too deep.

"I-I'm sorry, Mrs. Evans." Yoon apologized, releasing the woman's foot she had on her lap. She waited until Mrs. Evans returned to her ranting on the phone, exhaling softly and blowing a piece of her bangs away from her face. Unlike all the workers in her mother's salon, Yoon wore a long-sleeved shirt and pants from the mens uniform instead of the usual skirt and top for women working there. Her straight black hair was also relatively short, which dismissed the need of a ponytail and instead sheltered her face well enough from the clients she attended.

Working in a salon inside a mall had its benefits and its drawbacks. For one, having a job inherited from her parents certainly helped after not being able to receive financial aid to attend her dream school. There were also plenty of fast food restaurants to eat, but at the same time, the salon was never empty. There was always someone in need of a haircut, or a new set or acrylics, or a therapeutic body massage. Especially from older women like the one she was currently attending who spend hundreds of dollars to please a man she knew was cheating on her.

Yoon squirted the clear oil from the bottle and rubbed it along Mrs. Evans' feet, ensuring the french tips she just painted were completely dry before doing so. Her hands had become used to the aching after hours on hours of continuously having to use them in different motions. Eventually, she patted the wrinkled feet dry and slipped on some made-shift sandals for the client to walk in. Despite being ignored, Yoon still gave the respectful bow after attending a client before scribbling down the cost of the service and taking it to the cashier.

"엄마, Mrs. Evans is ready." She handed her mother the receipt, and read who was next in the chart.

"Yoonie, I tell you many many times to tie hair of yours. Makes you look like mop." The mother spoke in a broken English, adjusting her glasses as she read the note. Yoon rolled her eyes softly, dismissing what felt like the 100th time her mom's request.

"Okay, okay." The twenty year-old woman replied. Her eyes wandered down the list and dreaded the next service she read. Waxing was the one thing she hated the most, mostly because it took so much time and seeing a bunch of naked people screaming wasn't fun at all. But upon recognizing her daughter's groan, her mother kindly asked another worker to take care of it. Yoon gave an effort of a grateful smile and nodded towards her mom.

"No excuses next time." The mom said while writing a few notes down.

* * *

"Meh, that'll do." Kore stared at herself in the mirror, adjusting the black crop top she stole from her roommate because she hadn't done laundry. She grabbed a few "meaty" areas of her exposed stomach and squeezed them with a raised eyebrow. And then she grabbed another surface, forming a face with the forced rolls of her stomach and mimicked a monster's voice as she made it talk. The woman giggled softly afterwards and threw on her dirtied converse before heading out her room. She blinked once she saw passed out people her age along the stairs and the living room, having to carefully stroll over them after last night's party. There was a series of red cups and pingpong balls blocking the door, but with enough force, she was able to open it and slide through. She exhaled softly and shook her head. "Fucking alcoholics..." The pink haired woman said ironically before sliding in a piece of tobacco between her teeth and bottom lip, letting it soak there as she walked to the nearest bus station.

It took only a few minutes before both Viktor and Trevor were heading out of the Greenstreet Cafe, which was, in Vik's opinion, was arguably the best place to consider to grab something for the morning.

"–I'm tellin' ya, I'll have her dicked by next week," Trevor was saying, the conversation having shifted in the time between the table and now as they walked out onto the sidewalk and headed towards where they had left their cars in the lot.

"What happened to whatsherface, uh, Alexis or whatever her name was?" Viktor asked, his eyebrow lifted. "Isn't she supposed to be your girlfriend or whatever?"

"So? I have a lot of girls that just so happened to be friends," Trevor shrugged while he answered before adding, "with benefits."

"You're a dickhead bro," Vik shook his head, slipping his hands into the pockets of the thin foggy grey jacket that he wore.

At this, Trevor grinned. "Aye, don't hate the player, hate the game my man. Speaking of fuckin' and all, that Halloween party that Jamie's throwin' at his place next Wednesday. Ya goin'?"

Vik gave a shrug. "Dunno. I'm kinda fallin' off that type of stuff."

"How do you fall off of adult parties? They're parties. For adults!" Trevor said in disbelief. "Come on man, you and your piece'ah shit car should go. Besides what else do you have better to do anyways?"

"I don't know, work? I don't think I'd really be in the mood to be around a buncha drunk fucktards all night." Viktor replied. "On top of that, ya really think it's gonna be anywhere near safe with Mr. Orlando Dynamite still out and about?"

"Dude fuck that, they'll probably have his ass way before then. A hell, if not," Trevor lifted up his shirt slightly to show off the handle of the pistol that was tucked away comfortably within its holster. "License to carry and self defense."

Vik rolled his eyes with a scoff. "Oh please. Your dumbass just wanna shoot somebody. It wasn't enough for ya gettin' the damn thing huh?"

"Hey, you never know." Trevor replied. "Shit happens. Anyways, I'll catch ya later man. Gonna go take the latest catch to the mall, probably get some head in a bathroom."

"Oddly specific and the damnest of places. Catch ya on the flip side dunny."

"Later dude."

~

[Caesar Montana]

"Hey–nononno–sorry! Sorry!"

The sounds of brakes bringing cars to a screeching stop became apparent. The cause of this was the man in light teal shorts and a pale salmon colored sleeveless shirt that was currently running across the road.
However, the man was not alone in this disruption of the morning traffic, for just a few feet in front of him a form of white with brown-grey patches scurried through traffic.

"Whoa–sh-shit! Damn it–my bad!" Caesar apologized yet again, this time to whoever was behind the wheel of the dark orange pickup truck that came to a sharp stop because of him. He gave an embarrassed wave that had to be cut short. "Dogg! Dogg get your ass back here!" He called out to the canine, feeling his heart jump into his throat when he saw a car zip passed it that was a little too close a call. "Ai yai yai, esto condenado perro," He growled to himself sharply as he got to the other side of the street and continued his pursuit, pacing himself at a jog while trying to catch his breath.

Kore was about to take a bite of the breakfast burrito she microwaved earlier as she waited for the bus–that is, until she stopped at what her ears sensed. She surprisingly had great hearing despite spending most of her time with earphones plugged in, for she could hear the desperate call from a man calling after his dog. The pink haired woman blinked, tilting her head to the left where she saw the canine run through the street and head her way. Her eyes shifted to the person that ran after it, realizing it must have escaped. Kore took action quickly, which was also surprising considering she was most likely still under the influence of... something. She tore a piece of tortilla with eggs, scattering it along the ground to make the dog stop and enjoy free food.

* * *

"Uhm..." Yoon mumbled behind the clipboard.

"Well? Can you do it or not?"

"M-Ma'am, if you wanted to dye your hair AND add extensions, you were supposed to make a reserva--"

"ARE YOU SAYING THE CLIENT IS WRONG?! LET ME SPEAK TO YOUR MANAGER, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE--"

Yoon released a long sigh of annoyance, however, she kept her trembling smile. After what seemed an eternity of her insulting the way she did her job and how she was too young in the first place, she simply nodded. She went to fetch her mom so she could deal with it instead, and took advantage of this opportunity to take a break. Yoon didn't put any effort in removing her apron, and instead, pulling out her phone from her bra and went outside the salon to breathe something other that nail polish and shampoo. Instead of texting anyone, she went on to her favorite app to play games to entertain herself.

As the dog, ironically named Dogg, was sprinting up the street, she was quickly detoured by the smell of someone's breakfast. Her tail wagged furiously as Dogg's pace slowed into a trot, and the sight of the egg and tortilla littering the ground.

Caesar was already beginning to slow down as he was chasing the dog down the street, being that he had been at it all morning. He regretted ever making the mistake of leaving the front door open, even if it was just barely that he had done so.
He breathed heavily, coughing a few times until he was forced to a stop. He leaned down, his hands on his knees as he took a breather, shaking his head. It wasn't until he looked up and saw that Dogg, who was what was known as a "pocket pitbull", had come to a stop. This was the perfect opportunity. He moved briskly to catch up with the canine, and when he got closer, he noticed what had luckily brought the dog to a halt. "Hey–damn it, what did I tell you about eating shit off the ground?!" He squinted his eyes when one of Dogg's ears perked, and before she could run off again like he knew that she was preparing to do, he moved quickly in a stumble and stepped on the end on the leash.
A sigh of relief escaped him as he wiped his face, an irritated chuckle escaping him. "Yo, you're a reeeeaaaal piece of damn work," He said through his panting as he knelt down and scooped the chubby dog up into his arms. It wasn't until then that he noticed the breakfast tortilla-holding pink-haired woman that was there, it not taking long for him to put two and two together as he spoke. "Sorry 'bout that 'miga. She tends to be uh...hyperactive in the mornings. She ain't bother you too much did she?"

~

[The Mall, The Feline, and The Girl]

While Yoon was occupied with the game that she indulged in on her phone, something brushed passed her leg. What came next was a odd purr that sounded just a little like a person doing a good imitation of a cat. Except that it was, indeed, link, though definitely a peculiar one. For starters, the cat was big, looking to be one of the larger breeds of domesticated house cats. The silver-black fur around its neck was almost like a mane of a lion, and it's luminous yellow eyes brightened in color by some of the darker fur that covered its face. It's bushy tail swayed behind it as it passed her, only to circle back around and hop onto the 2nd floor rail where it was more or less up to her height and stared at her. But there was something strange about the way it did so.

But what was even stranger was that the people that passed them seemed to pay it no mind whatsoever to the large, quaint feline.

“Either you’ve been running for a long time or you’re unfit.” Kore chuckled softly, noticing his heavy panting and sweat before answering his question. “Not at all.” She said while taking another bite of her burrito. “She’s quite the charmer.” The pink-haired woman said before gently patting its head.

***

“wuah!” Yoon jolted when she felt something brush against her leg, clumsily almost dropping her phone before being able to catch it midair. She blinked, her gaze following the rather big cat jumping to reach her height. Never had she seen a cat this big or rather one in a mall at any point in her life. “Are you lost?” She blinked, looking around to ask people if this was their cat. But when she was ignored, her black brows furrowed. “This place is nowhere near suited for a cat.”

Or maybe a little bitta both, Caesar thought himself after the woman's comment towards his current condition, and he chuckled himself. He watched as the woman casually bit into her breakfast. but raised his brow at her absurd comment towards Dogg while finally catching his breath. "Her? A Charmer? In what world?" He said, looking down at the dog that had now been tucked under his arm, watching as it tried to lick whatever crumbs it could find on the woman's fingertips. "See? That's why you chubby now.." He rolled his eyes, pulling her away from the woman in fear that her hand would be covered in more saliva than she would think sooner or later.

~

The cat licked at its paws while it was being spoken to, yet its eyes remained on Yoon. It gave another purr, its tail swishing again. But then it turned and began to walk along the rail, pausing for a moment to look back at her. "Meeeow." It wasn't a cat's meow that came from its mouth. Its yellow eyes stared into Yoon's before it turned and continued to walk down the rail until it suddenly turned to it's left and jumped off, falling towards the ground.

“Nothing wrong with an extra set of weight.” Kore joked while she finished the last of her burrito and dunked the wrapper in the nearest trash can, returning her attention to the dog in the man’s hands. Despite his effort to remove her, she still took a step forward and scrubbed along the ears of the dog before placing a small kiss on her head. “You have a name for her?” She blinked, realizing what she had just asked. “I would ask for your name but she seems too cute to pass on first.”

***

Yoon found the cat’s noise very odd, but because she never really owned a cat before, she didn’t know if that was normal. Her eyebrows raised when she saw it jump. “H-hey! Stop that! Aren’t you guys supposed to be lazy?” She tilted her head softly, taking her phone out to take a picture and hopefully finding its owner by posting it online. “Come, let me see if you have a chip in you or something. Pets aren’t allowed here and if anything, they’ll be taking you to the pound.” She said while squatting down and making weird noises to get its attention.

Caesar scoffed. "Oh jeez, I hope she didn't bite you and possibly give you some type'ah clean dog rabies or somethin' with a comment like that." He scratched his head, looking down at the dog under his arm. "Her name's Dogg. Don't look at me, I'm not the one who did the namin'." And this was true, for the canine that he had under his arms was not exactly his. It belonged to his sister, who asked him to watch her as a favor while she had gone out of town. Well, it was more of him having offered to do so when she couldn't find anyone else. And though she was reluctant to do so, he assured her that he would be fine enough to be able to take care of an animal.
He scratched his head a little now, finally taking in the appearance of the woman more now that he wasn't feeling as if he were trying to stop himself from suffocating. "So, I'll take it that you can take my name too then?" After taking a second or two to have a thought to himself, he stuck out his hand. "I'm Caesar. Most people just call me Monty or Tony though. Either or is fine by me really."

Meanwhile under his arm, Dogg was squirming a little, giving a little whine as it drooled, searching for more of the quick snack it had gotten.

~

The cat continued to hop across the rail while Yoon spoke to it and made the assumption that cats were supposed to be lazy. However, it did come to a stop again as it looked back at her. But it wasn't until Yoon began to make the weird noises that she did to attract it back did the large feline turn all the way around, its head seeming to tip to the side as if to ask what the hell that was supposed to be that she was doing. Its eyes moved to the phone in her hand, staring directly at it. And for a moment, it looked as if it were about to grin.

However, it wasn't until the picture would be taken that something else strange occurred. The large cat itself wouldn't be anywhere to be found within the gallery, only its outline barely which barely existed within the photo while the cat itself remained where it was.

Yoon found herself perplexed when she didn’t see the cat in her photo album. “What...” She looked ridiculous uploading a blank picture with a caption that asked who this cat belonged to. She assumed her phone was acting weird and shook the thought away. “Hey!” Yoon quickly followed it before looking around and picking up the cat gently on the tip of her toes. Her hands were extremely soft, and despite working all day, she still smelled like freshly cut fruit. “Cats aren’t allowed here.” She repeated while stroking its head. “Especially stubborn ones. Who do you belong to? I’m going to need to hide you in my bag and ask my mom for a break so I can perhaps take you to the vet and pet shop. She’s severely allergic so try not to shed while at it.” She held the cat rather awkwardly, looking around again and debating where she could hide it. Yoon was glad that she always wore a size or two bigger uniform than her original one, so she adjusted the cat under her shirt and tried making as less obvious as possible.

***

Kore snickered, dimples appearing on the top of her cheeks as she did so. “Wait wait wait—you named your dog... Dogg?” Her head tilted. “Not even a Coco or a Daisy?” She said as the two most common names. “I’ll give ya props, she does look like a Dogg.” She said with obvious sarcasm and a smirky raised eyebrow. “Nice to meet you, Caesar.” Kore finally smiled. “I think I’ll call ya that, I know a lot of Tony’s. You can call me Kore if ya want.” She leaned on the top of her toes and back.

"Yeeah, I guess Tony is a pretty common name around these parts huh?" Caesar chuckled, grinning a little. Unlike Kore though, he only had a single dimply on his left cheek that was visible through his roughly returning facial hair. "Alright then Kore, now that I at least have a name for ya, I think I can thank you properly for stoppin' Ms. Out-And-About here from keeping up her relay race around town," He said, throwing a light glare towards the dog, who responded by trying to turn enough to lick at him as some sort of pet apology. "Naah, don't give me that. You suck," he said to Dogg before his attention returned to the woman that he now had become acquainted with. "So, I take it that you stay somewhere around? Not tryna be creepy or anything of course–but I'd at least feel a little better knowin' that there's someone around to sway her with some tortillas if she got out like this again."

~

When the cat was picked up, it didn't really show any sign of resistance again Yoon at all, and actually purred as if it welcomed this. More than it should have. It rubbed its head against the soft stroke of the human's hand, a silent hiss coming about when it was called stubborn. And as it was stuffed into her too large uniform. However, it quickly found its way up her shirt and managed to squeeze his head out of the neck hole. Its long tail still hung out the bottom of the uniform shirt, twitching back and forth a little as the cat looked around.

Yoon squeezed her arms into her sleeves to have a good grip on the cat, giggling softly at its purring. She placed a small kiss upon its head, ensuring the cat was well positioned and warm enough to continue forward. Her thick but short hair was enough to cover the peeking the feline was doing.

The young woman slowly walked into the salon, avoiding eye contact with any of her coworkers. She continued in silence until she reached the cashier where her mom was currently writing on a clipboard, unaware that her daughter had stepped out for a small break.

“엄마, could I take my lunch break now?” Yoon spoke with her soft voice.

Her mother expressed in dismay something in Korean. “Less people less work less money!” She reprimanded. But upon seeing her daughter, she oddly felt a sense of guilt. She knew she wasn’t invited to parties or hung out with anyone for that matter. And she knew it was partly her fault for encouraging her to stay working there instead of going to college. With a sigh, she nodded. “No back late.”

Yoon gave an effort of a smile and thanked her in her native language. But when she saw her sneeze, she quickly grabbed her bag and started in a sprint out the shop, the cat inside of her being forced to bounce crazily along with certain parts of her body until she came to a stop. “You’re a lucky cat.” She said, in reference that she was doing all of this to begin with.

***

“Totally not creepy for someone with a manbun to ask that.” She reassured him jokingly. “I live right there.” Kore turned some and pointed to the house down the street. “And no problem, I would hate losing my best bud too.” She blinked when an idea occurred to her, and she walked towards the empty trash can to retrieve a piece of the wrapper from her burrito. From her backpack, she fetched her black eyeliner and wrote down her number with a small skull and heart at the end before slipping it into the crevices of Caesar’s hand. “There, now you can call me anytime in case your dog runs loose again. Don’t worry, I have a whole stack of tortillas at home. Wheat ones, of course.”

"Hey hey hey, the bun did nothing wrong," Caesar had said in the defense of his "manbun", though just as humorously as Kore's comment towards it had been. He had to step to the side a little to look passed her when she pointed to the house down the street and he took a mental note if where they were since he knew the area well enough to remember it. Something was coming to mind but when he turned to speak, it quickly left just as fast as it had came when he saw her go through the trashcan. And upon watching her grab the paper from her breakfast, he was puzzled, looking down at Dogg. "Don't...even..think about it." He warned her, feeling that she had began to pant greedily and lick her lips;

His head tipped back up when what felt like paper was slipped between his middle and ring finger, and with the words that followed afterwards, he rose his brows in surprise. "Oh..well–I mean thanks." He had to take a second to shake the disbelief off before speaking again. "Wheat ones huh? Well I hope you don't have to use too many of them on her, because her buns are big enough as is," He said, gesturing towards the dog under his arm with a chuckle. He looked passed her again when he heard the sound of the bus coming around the block from down the street. "I take it that that's your big city limo then?" He said in reference to it since she was at the bus stop.

~

While they were within the salon, the feline's ears lifted into a perk when it heard the voice of Yoon's mother speaking, it's head peeked very slightly passed the thick strands hair that were in its way out of curiosity. But unknown to Yoon, the cat was careful when it did so. Strangely...careful. And unknown to Yoon's mother, it's yellow eyes scanned what they could of their surroundings in awe and wonder. The sneeze that its presence brought from the mother made its ears twitch in dismay and it retreated back behind the short curtain of hair that hid it.

Upon their exit from the shop, the cat's claws retracted in attempt to stop from being thrown around so much within the girls shirt for what good it did. But the more it was bounced around, the more a vague tearing sound could be heard. It squirmed slightly when they finally came to a stop, trying to climb up and out, its head shifting upwards to look up at her when she heard the woman speak. The feline looked as if it rolled its eyes at her statement, giving another meowing noise while doing so.

The young woman stopped when they came to an isolated bench in the mall. "There we go." Yoon gently placed the cat on the seat and scratched along its ears. "Sorry, I just didn't want to get caught." She apologized, tilting her head some as to how the cat could perfectly show facial expressions. But she smiled down at the cat, sitting down besides it as she reached inside her bag. "Do you like tuna?" Yoon asked out loud, unwrapping her triangular onigiri and picking out some of the fish with her metal chopsticks. "You must be hungry." She said, holding it out to its nose.

* * *

"Mhmm." Kore nodded in agreement. "It's free too." She added with a small hint of laughter. "Anyways, good luck with your dog and make sure to keep it hydrated." The pink-haired woman said while airing herself. "It's been pretty hot lately." Her hairs blew back some as the doors of the bus opened. "See ya later, Dogg." She patted Caesar's canine gently.

The feline stared up at the woman for a moment. However, its mouth opened as is it were about to meow again, but instead, something....extraordinary took the place of it. The large cat's lower jaw began to move in a yapping fashion, and from its mouth, words began to spill forth with a "I'm curious. Would it be stereotypical to assume that all cats eat tuna finish, or would that be a term more exclusive to humans?" The voice that spoke was bewilderingly articulate. "But to affirm both your question and statement, I do indeed "like tuna", and I have worked up quite an appetite from my recent campaigning."

~

Dogg barked at the pink-haired woman that had so graciously treated her to breakfast, her tail wagging in a friendly manner.

"I suppose I'll see you around then?" Caesar asked, only to look at Dogg. "Or maybe not." Because there was no way in hell that he was going to allow her to escape and have him running all through town all over again. He covered his mouth and coughed lightly, clearing his throat. "See ya." He gave an awkward wave, which only made him feel as if he had made things awkward with how dismissive he thought he had sounded.

Kore shrugged with a small smirk of her own. "Well, you know where I live now, so I expect to see ya soon. With your dog." She added in the end before saluting him and hopping on to the bus, plugging back her red earphones in. The woman sat in the seat near the window and made silly faces to get Dogg's attention before giving a peace sign as the vehicle rode away.

* * *

"---AHHH!!!" The cat was suddenly thrown the metal chopsticks, them hitting its forehead and letting the tuna fall on the ground. Yoon recoiled, dropping her bag with everything within it spilling out. She fell against the corner of the bench, with her knees tucked in her overly-big hoodie. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. "....y-y-y-yy--y-you TA-TALK!" She blurted out, before launching a small notebook she had in her backpack. She quickly got to her trembling feet and touched her forehead to see if she had a fever. The young woman was about to take off into a full sprint until she saw all her belongings on the ground, quickly kneeling down in attempt to pick all of them up.

Caesar instinctively took a step back as the bus prepared to take off, giving a less awkward wave to the bus driver. He watched as the bus drove off down the road, finding himself staring after it for a long moment. That is, until he glanced down at Dogg. "You know...maybe you're not half bad after all. For a dog, I mean." He shrugged, and started to make his way back home.

~

The feline stood there in a confused silence as the chopsticks fell onto the bench after hitting its face. "What on Earth–I spoke? Yes, I did do so. And so have you, correct? I don't think it would be beneficial of you to to–" It hissed, finding itself having to leap over a notebook and onto the back of the bench. The feline watched as the young woman rushed to pick up the things that she had spilled onto the ground, speaking. "How rude!" It exclaimed with dismay. "Look at all of that delicious fish you just wasted! I hope you're not expecting me to salvage and savor a meal that's been on these floors." It licked its paw. "Please, don't make this a complicated thing for yourself. We're both reasonable speaking creatures inhabiting the same airspace are we not? Let's be reasonable here!"

Meanwhile, a few people that were passing by, a few men and women, some middle aged others a bit younger, gave Yoon a few strange looks as if she were crazy. One of the women and someone that could have been assumed to be her partner even ushered themselves further out of the way as to avoid her so it seemed.

"Y-YO-YOU'RE TALKING!" Yoon exclaimed again as she gathered the rest of her items. However, the cat was right. She couldn't just leave a mess on the floor, she was taught better than that. She grabbed one of the chopsticks defensively, it shaking in her hand as she held it against the cat so she could clean the food she dropped. "S-Stay back!" She stammered. "Y-You're sick!" She concluded, tossing the garbage away and struggling to retrieve her phone to video record the cat and send it to a vet. "Y-You need your shots a-a-and need to be n-neutered---" Yoon said, growing frustration being seen in her when she saw that the cat didn't appear on her phone. Her eyes made contact with those around her. "H-Hey! Th-The cat, i-it's talking! Do y-you have a camera? C-Can I borrow your phone?!" She shrieked, pointing at the black cat.

"Uhh....a cat?" A woman with well groomed and vibrant blonde hair and cherry red lips gave a snobbish scoff. "Honey, I think you need to make a visit to the hospital." She suggested, but in a rather condescending manner. She flipped her hair, her hooped earrings dangling as she dug into her purse to look for her phone. But instead of recording where Yoon was pointed, the lens of the camera was placed on Yoon. "Trevvooor, after I'm done with this video, we're going to see if we can go viral!"

However, the tall bearded man beside her seemed to be distracted. In fact, he wasn't even paying attention to the woman beside her. His eyes were more on the large cat that sat on the back of the bench, staring back at him. "That....is a big ass fucking cat..."

The woman turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "What? Hey! Don't entertain the antics of nutcases! We don't do that, remember?" She said, smacking him on the arm even though it practically did nothing to him.

But the large man looked around. "Huh? No I'm serious, you're telling me you don't see that damn thing sitting there looking like Garfield's ancient ancestor or some shit!?"

The woman smacked her lips at him, scoffing now at the man. "Trevor, you're going to embarrass me! Do you know how many followers I have on instagram now? Of course you do! Ugh!" She made a few swipes and taps on her phone before turning of the screen and sliding it back down into her pocket, her interest in the situation lost now.

And while they were leaving, the feline spoke, watching as Trevor was still attempting to look back at the cat. "Perhaps it would be best if you weren't in such a hysteria young lady. The attention you're currently gathering doesn't seem as if it is positive. You shouldn't assume that everyone can see me. There are no needs for shots or things of that nature if they aren't for yourself I believe," it said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

Yoon's neck shamefully sunk into the bottom of her hoodie, a deep blush stinging her pale cheeks when she saw the camera pointed at her from the tall woman. At least, for her she was tall considering how short she herself was. Her eyes lowered to the ground some and she fidgeted with her fingers when she was teased, however she felt more than just awkward at the argument between the blonde-haired woman and who she assumed to be her boyfriend. Yoon took several steps back, glancing at the man that agreed there was indeed a cat. Her eyes squinted, thinking he was just making fun of her. She felt her entire body droop while picking up her backpack, tucking it into the crook of her body. Her brows furrowed some as if she was frustrated and was about to cry, which matched with the burning blush from the more people that stared at her cluelessly. If there was one thing she hated, it was attention of any kind.

She didn't bother picking up her Tupperware filled with her mother's delicious meals–and instead, just left it there to be eaten by the cat. Yoon pushed her hair into the hood of her jacket and started off to the opposite direction towards her salon.

The large cat sat there for a moment, looking to the tupperware. And while Yoon was walking off towards the salon, there was a jolt from her backpack that was almost like a tug. The stains that had been left on the floor from the tuna that had fell were no longer there, the spot where they had landed now spic-and-span. However, the tupperware was no longer there on the floor either.

"Come now, you've just gone on mm, what did you tell your birther–break, aha! Yes, that's it, break," the articulate voice sounded as if it had popped out of thin air, the feline now walking alongside her with casual strides of its long legs. "I can safely assume that that would be an equivalent to playtime perhaps? Or feeding, since you were about to enjoy a meal, correct?" It looked at her. "Some advice as well if I may, I don't think that returning so soon would be wise. Also, you have a bit of tuna juice on your fingers that I could take care of for you if you'd allow me to."

Yoon quickly wiped her fingers on her pants, shoving them in her hoodie alongside her bag. Her head sunk further into the crook of her neck when she realized the talking cat was following her and indeed attempting a conversation. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Y-You're not real." She stammered to herself while quickening her pace. She wasn't sure if she hadn't gotten enough sleep or perhaps she was being punished for wanting to leave earlier than her other coworkers. "I don't d-do playtime or f-feeding---" She dared to speak up despite what she had just previously said. Yoon sniffled lightly from earlier and dreaded having to open her social media only to probably find herself in the front page portrayed as delusional thanks to a cat.

The feline was silent for a second or two, taking in Yoon's words. "Actually, I'm very much existential," It replied. "What if I told you that you weren't real? Would you like that very much?" It wasn't offended or anything by the comments that she made, but rather curious. Being able to understand a human through language was far from something any animal was capable of doing to such an extent. "Why is it that you think that I'm not real exactly? Aside the fact that I can speak, that is? Currently, you understand me, and I you. Or is it more of the matter that you are able to actually see me? And the fellow, it seemed as though he is able to as well. It's rather...peculiar."

"It's not fair that others can't see you but I can!" Yoon exclaimed with frustrated brows. "It makes me... look... stupid..." She mumbled with obviously a sensitive heart. She wasn't sure why she was still talking to this cat or why it was following her. "W-What is it that you need?! A vet? A place to stay? More tuna? Will that make you... stop talking and be a normal cat?"

"Will I truly be a normal cat if no one could see me but you?" The feline asked quizzically. And after a moment of thinking, it trailed back to one of the questions that she had asked. "A place to stay sounds quite comfortable," it purred. "However, I do not think that something as unusual as I will ever be just an ordinary feline again even if that is so. I wouldn't mine a bit of non-floored tuna at all either, though if you cannot provide that, I am more than capable of hunting my meals."

"So, what? You want me to bring you home and pamper you? You think I can hide a talking cat from my mom?!" She exclaimed with a genuine look of shock. "I can't even hide a bottle of soda!" She shook her head. "You can't be real..."

"Really? You're rather persistent in wanting to believe that aren't you?" The feline was astounded by this. "Can we not just agree that its not that I'm not real, its more that I am not in the realm of what you would consider ordinary. Out of the ordinary, per say. Or better yet, I can grant you proof. Well, proof aside from my accidental clawing while I was tucked away." An extra 19 pounds of weight suddenly landed onto Yoon's backpack, the cat's bushy tail throwing itself across the young woman's shoulder. "See?" It pointed a claw at the front of her uniform where it had been forced to dig its claws in before when the young woman had rushed out of the salon. "Or will you tell me that you did that?"

Yoon gasped and almost fell backward when the extra set of pounds landed on her backpack. And then she saw her shirt, in which she gulped because she knew her mother would scold her about it. Her nose wrinkled a little with furrowed brows before glancing at the cat. "You didn't have to do that." She said. "And I think you should go on a tuna diet." The biracial woman added in reference to its weight. "It's not healthy..."

"Oh but it is. For me, at least. Unlike you humans, we have no need for diets. Eating in moderation comes natural for us. Perhaps it is you who may need to eat a little more. Being frail isn't healthy at all either my dear." The cat's tail flick into Yoon's face. "I do concur however, for being thrown every which of a way around inside of a shirt is not exactly stable. So in turn, it is mostly your fault. Though, I will be kind enough to take partial blame. In regards to your previous statement, I don't believe that your mother is able to see me. Not in the way that you are, at least."

“I eat enough as is. I’m not frail, I’m just short.” Yoon corrected the cat, still not knowing why she continued talking to it. “You are obese for a cat.” She admitted straightforwardly. “And if you seek a home, then I’m sure the local animal shelter will be more than happy to provide you a box and some kibble. May be beneficial in your case.” Yoon said while picking up the animal with her hands and holding it away from her to observe it.

"Shelters are filled with dusty furred creatures and imbeciles who think a needle is an answer to everything. And secondly, I can not and will not be confined to the likes of a box as if I'm one of those house dwellers that you've swayed with kibble and treats for them to do your bidding.. Furthermore, I can assure you that even with my supposed "obesity", I am still more nimble than the likes of you on your best day," It stated, staring at the girl as she held it away from her. "It isn't a home that I necessarily seek. More of a temporary stay until I figure out why it is exactly that you're able to see and understand me."

Yoon’s brows furrowed further, gripping the cat now by the crook of its neck with a singular hand instead of two, similar to how a vet would. “Then I’m sure you could go with the other dude that saw you. Surely he has a bed for you and you can enjoy the stench of socks and an ugly attitude.”

"Or I could find that woman who was recording you from before and make sure whatever videos that she had taken are posted around the thing you call the internet while I'm at it," The feline retorted. "Surely that would clash well with your introversion and would be good for the human grooming business that you're working for wouldn't it? And besides that, if it turns out that the fellow from before couldn't truly see me and was possibly pretending he did so for the sake of pity towards you, where do you think I'll return to? Now if you'd be so kind as to settle me down. As you've seen, I am more than capable of walking on my own four paws thank you very much."

Yoon’s brows softened some at the possibility of harming her mother’s business. She didn’t care what happened to her, since she was used to being teased but not grabbing the attention of the woman’s thousands of followers. She suddenly released the cat without warning. “You’ll stay outside.” She said in reference to the feline staying with her. “I’m busy, I don’t have time to be caring for a talking cat!” She lied.

The cat, as to be expected, landed gracefully on its feet, fluffing out its tail afterwards. "As if I need to be cared for!" It stated. "You speak as if "outside" hasn't been my place of preference from the start. And I'll have you know the ability too have you understand me is only one of the few things that I've acquired–" The feline's head turned, its ears leaning outwards slightly. "Hmm...you may want to hurry. By the sounds of it, the phone-made star and her lackey have just become customers. Call it fate, perhaps?"

“You did this, didn’t you? Lead them to my mom’s salon... are you just bad luck? Is this an early Halloween curse? You are a black cat after all... a fat black cat...” Yoon stated. “I refuse to attend them or y—“ She was about to say something before her phone rang. And upon answering, she dreaded her mother’s enthusiastic voice of attending customers her age. She immediately hung up and cursed in Korean before her attention went back to the cat. “Shoo!” She attempted to drive him away, tossing a piece of loose string from her jacket on the ground and hoping it would be enthralled by it.

"And grey, and white," The feline corrected Yoon when she spoke of its color. "That has to be one of the most ludicrous superstitions that you humans have ever come up with, and the colored feline community are indeed offended by the reputation that you've given us!" It exclaimed, going off on a tangent still while Yoon was busy answering her phone. At the girl's attempt at shooing it away, it responded with, "Neigh! That only works on idiots like dogs!" It watched the string from the young woman's jacket hit the floor and let out a sigh. "That is a string, not a ball you uncultured swine! Am I supposed to be entertained by this?" And then it occurred to it that before the phenomenon that had given it so much more life than just being a cat occurred, that was precisely what would have been considered as "entertaining".

“I can’t believe I actually considered keeping you!” Yoon said in reference to when she first saw the feline without knowing it could talk. “Dogs are way more entertaining that you preppy cats.” She stared as she began to walk with her hands shoved into her pockets. “Can’t believe I was a stupid cat in 5th grade...” She mumbled to one of her previous Halloween costumes.

"Better to be something you think to be stupid rather than something that actually is," The cat purred. "Of course its the idiotic that keep you all entertained. As for you "keeping me"," it gave an amused scoff, "you wouldn't have been able to even if you tried."

~Meanwhile~

Back within the salon, Trevor watched with mild annoyance as the blonde haired woman that he had come to the mall with stood there at the counter, tapping her foot impatiently. "Would you cut that shit out already? We literally just got here, and it ain't there fault you broke a stupid nail trying to open the door. Blame the cheap ass place where ya got'em from."

"Can you not right now?" The blonde snapped at him irritably. "These people are supposed to be ready and on the go when customers get here. It's a reason they have a job, which they wouldn't have if they didn't have customers that are supposed to be top priority! I shouldn't have to stand here waiting!"

"What does it even matter if the wait won't even be long!" Trevor exclaimed. "And on top of that, you're not even the one PAYING for it!"

"Ugh, whateverr, totally leaving a one star on Yelp if this place isn't any good. It already looks like a place that might be below me." The woman continued distastefully.

And this made Trevor's scrub his hand down his face, almost screaming internally at how much he was regretting this, especially after having to hear her mouth about the incident from earlier. But somewhere in his mind, he told himself that this was as bad as things could get. Or so he thought.

"Oh, herro!" Yoon's mother quickly attended the customers after the quick chat with her daughter. "I sorry for dee wait." She apologized with offering free mints to them before retrieving her clipboard. The older lady adjusted her glasses, her wrinkly fingers holding a blue pen. "What can I help with? New hair? New face? New nails? New makeup?" She listed the options. "Very good workers to help with that!" She said in reference to her daughter.

Meanwhile, Yoon was nearing the salon and somewhat stalling from entering by bickering to the cat. "See? There you go with the whole cat arrogance thing! Why don't you go hunt a rat or cough a hairball?!" Her arms flailed before she groaned. Standing outside the salon, she removed her hoodie and revealed only a glimpse of her unknown body, switching back into her oversized uniform. She sighed, stuffing her hoodie into her bag and adjusting her hair into a neat ponytail despite its size.

"I can guarantee that you know little about cats if you think that that's all that we do." The feline then continued. "You're one to speak of arrogance when you're a human, the very pinnacle of the word. Though I am surprised that you do know the difference between a mouse and a rat. It pleases me." It sat there patiently as it watched her change back into the large uniform that she wore, its eyes going over the tears that had been caused by its claws for a second or two. "Say, I'm curious. What would be your response if I told you that I can repair that uniform of yours?"

Back on the inside of the salon, the blonde woman had already got started with her mouth again when the older woman approached and spoke to them. "New hair? New face? Nails?! Does it look like I need a new on of either of those?! My hair is flawlessly vibrant, my face impeccable, my nails unscathed! For a salon full of chingy–"

"JUST...tell the lady what you came here for." Trevor interrupted, almost cringing while doing so. He gave the older woman and apologetic look from behind his beard, his eyes narrowing at the blonde. "Ahem, we ain't got time to be waitin', and I'm sure that these people would like to continue on with their day without extra issues."

The woman turned to Trevor. "Uh, well whatever issues they have they're going to move them to another day because I'm not going to have people who can't keep their issues at home laying a finger on me."

"Oh my gooooood, just fucking ANSWER THE LADY."

The woman's head jerked back as if she couldn't believe the tone that he was trying to take with her. She flipped her hair to the side in his direction, her attention going to the woman. "I would like a deep shampoo and conditioning along with a cucumber exfoliation mask and a cream mask to follow behind it. My toenails and nails need to be filed, all of them evenly, and finally, I want my hair to be curled from the root. I have brunch to attend to later today. If you can do that, then maybe that one star could become a three and a half."

"I would tell you that your mad and to keep your witchcraft or whatever away from me." Yoon responded with a hmph. But upon her eyes landing on the salon and on the two guests in line, she sighed. "I have work to do..." She shook of all her previous thoughts and prioritized the task in hand.

Before the older lady behind the counter could say she needed a reservation for certain requests, Yoon stepped in with her hands behind her back and her chin propped up some. "I will take care of it, 엄마..." The younger woman spoke. She exchanged a few words with her mother in their native language regarding the tears on her shirt before her attention went back to the guests. "Right this way." She said, almost as like a pre-recorded robot. She didn't make eye contact with either of them and instead guided them to the designated spots.

"And you, yung man?" The owner asked Trevor. "We good massage and clean feet."

The woman that accompanied Trevor should have thrown a fit upon finding out who was going to be tending to her. However, she had already taken out her phone, her thumbs busy tapping away at the screen rapidly as she was already texting out a passage about who knows what and sending it to who knows where. "Do me a favor and don't embarrass me while I'm gone," She said to Trevor while following behind Yoon.

Trevor waited until he didn't see her anymore before turning to the owner. "Oh no, I'm good. As far as I'm concerned, you've just helped me with the biggest pain in my ass that I've got." He said, gesturing towards where the blonde woman had gone off with the younger woman that worked there. "Any idea how much all of what she said's gonna be? I was wondering if I could pay in advance." Because he wasn't sure that he could stand much more of being around the self entitled human being that he had come with. '

-

Outside the salon, the feline stalked back and forth in front of the door after Yoon had gone in. She has it, There was no mistaking it. The turn of events was enough to tell it that it was indeed in the right place. Whether it was of its own doing or by coincidence no longer concerned it. Hopping up onto the rail of the second floor as it had done previously, it decided to go on a hunt for a quick snack and survey the area while it was at it for anything that it could consider a clue. If there were two people there already that could see it, one of them still not being fully confirmed just yet, then perhaps there were more within the area. Though it doubted this, being that it wasn't as if it had just been arriving. No. It had been within the mall for hours at a time, searching around for anything that had a possibility of being useful. It went into a brief trot across the rail before jumping off of it and falling towards the first floor.

However, before it was anywhere close enough to it, its body imploded in on itself, its mouth swallowing its form with a small pop, sparks of electrifying air and dark sparkles sprinkling into a fall until they vanished.

"Fifty-five dollars." Yoon's mother spoke with a friendly smile despite what she heard previously. The cost of the salon was relatively cheap even with all the requests that were added last minute. That was also how she kept her business going, offering high quality sessions for a low cost. And even then, after her salon closed for the night, she worked the night-shift as the mall's janitor. Although her daughter offered to take her place, she refused to let her do so because she believed she could do better things with her time. The owner scribbled down a few things on the paper and handed the bill to Trevor. "First time customer, $10 off." She added with her motherly smile.

Meanwhile, Yoon guided the blonde woman to the secluded washing area, where she was seated on a cushioned chair and leaned back gently to relax her head against one of the salon's several sinks. Before commencing, Yoon ensured her golden locks were all gathered within the sink and wrapped a towel around her neck and chest. The young woman remained quiet as she retrieved the essential materials, commencing with the customer's face. With a cotton pad, she softly removed any makeup or excess oil with an aloe-scented cleanser.

"Ten off huh?" Trevor gave a nod at the answer he was given about the price, a somewhat satisfied expression on his face. Usually with all that had been named, he ended up having to pay more. However, he wasn't complaining at all. He reached into his back pocket and fished out his wallet, taking out a fifty and twenty dollar bill, holding it out to the woman. "Then I guess I'll had fifteen on for the uh...extra." Extra being the woman that they were now currently tending to. He knew for a fact that if he hadn't been there to shut her down she would have crossed too many lines if she hadn't already.

Meanwhile, the woman was more occupied with trying to keep up with the string of texts that were currently streaming down her screen, brushing away the cotton pad that was being used on her face when it got in the way of what she was reading. But her eyes widened a little and she sat up when her phone gave a buzz in her hands. She gasped, her face almost one of horror. "13 percent?!" She squealed in dismay. "Quick, fetch me a charger!" She said to Yoon. "Hurry before it ends up dying!"

“We don’t carry chargers with that phone.” Tossing the used cotton pad, Yoon approached the customer with some more organic products. “You’ll do fine without it for a bit. It might do you well to enjoy your surroundings.” She created her own exfoliating scrub in front of her, mashing a couple strawberries and mixing them with honey and sugar. It was a cold substance at first touch, but as Yoon began to rub it into the woman's skin, her soft hands that warmed the beads sent her into a euphoria of peace and calmness. She stimulated various blood vessels and muscles on the blonde woman's face

"What?!" The woman exclaimed when told that they didn't have chargers for an phone. "What kind of run down place is this supposed to be that it doesn't have i-Phone chargers–no, no I won't be find without it! I don't know what kind of neck-of-the-woods life that you've been living, but I have important things that I tend to 24/7 and those things involve MY PHONE," she emphasized. Her face was scrunched in dismay while the exfoliating substance was placed onto her face, her eyes still on her phone. Her fingers looked like they were moving at a hundred taps per second while she was rushing to try to get out more messages. "Ugh, this place definitely getting only one star!"

“I apologize for the inconvenience that was enough to rate it one star.” Yoon said in a monotone voice, however she felt her blood boil with anger. But she did not let that impede with the work she was doing. She wiped away any excess product, laying two slices of cucumber on her eyes as the moisture of the lotion locked into her skin. Meanwhile, she also began with dampening the woman’s hair with lukewarm water.

"Oh you're going to need more than an apology. Just wait until my followers get a hold of the name of this place! Especially if what I paid for comes out to be some sub-par job!" The woman continued. "And if I find one strand damaged, one curl out of order, then we're going to have and issue–"

"Oh. So this is what you trade an elegant, lovable creature such as myself for?" The returning voice of the feline sounded as if they were shoving the ranting woman's voice into a quiet corner by itself. At first, it was unknown where the large cat was. That is, until it appeared sitting on the back of one of the chairs to the left of Yoon and her customer.