As Sammy was taking another drag on her cigarette, her attention slowly moved toward the man standing there with a grin on her face. Her eyes widened slightly, the back of her hand softly striking Mason's shoulder as the van stopped to let the people pass by. Sammy kept her gaze on the man and replied, "Holy shit, Mason."
Once Mason looked over at the man, he felt a bit uneasy, seeing the grin similar to that just moments before. But to Sammy, all she saw was a creepy stare, before she replied, "That man is on one hell of a trip." She then followed it with a snicker, trying to contain herself before she spoke, "Hey, we should fuck with him. See if he freaks out."
"No, Sammy." Mason said almost immediately. "Don't torture the guy. He's probably got it bad enough as is."
"You're no fun." Sammy rolled her eyes before she put out the butt of her cigarette into the vans ashtray before she sat back in her chair, waiting for the last man to move so the van could get a move on

"Yes, actually. A night." Kore replied blandly to his question that was meant to be a joke. "Or burp into your mouth for $30 dollars or sometimes a punch to the face for $20. Spiritual cleansing $60. A spit to the face $30." She paused her chewing to add on after he hung up his call. However, she studied his face and expressions closely while he had been in the phone with the woman. Kore didn't respond to his apology, instead, just tilted her head gently and blinked. "You have mine. We'll have to see. Good luck, Caesar." She said before there was another pop of her gum, her eyes beaming slightly when she did so.

The man's stare remained, as did the idle posture of his body until he stepped from the sidewalk and began to walk. At first, it looked like he was crossing the street. But while he was going, his neck turned to adjust his head to where his stare never left the van, and it was like he was looking passed the glare of the windshield and directly at the inhabitants. A few more steps, and his path was made clear as he came to a stop right beside the van, deaf to the honking horn of the red Audi that he now stood in front of. Now the man's face was more recognizable, him being the same person who had stared down Raven before.

~

Caesar mustered a smile that managed to come off as genuine to hide the inner turmoil that went about in his mind. But when his eyes met hers for a brief fraction of a second, all of it seemed to vanish for just that moment. "Yeah, thanks. I guess we will have to see huh? Well, see ya around soon doll face." He gave a half wave, already heading towards the door in a hurry, which led to him almost running into someone in the process and leaving him having to murmur out a quick apology to excuse himself.

-

"Excuse me–my bad, sorry!"

Before Raven could even stammer out that it was alright or that she was fine, the man was already hustling down the street in the opposite direction that she had come from. She had just passed by bus #43 that was heading towards midtown and wondered if the man had been trying to hurry to catch it in time. It'd be too late now dude, she thought to herself as she watched him on his way until the sound of the store's door closing all the way caught her attention. She entered through quickly, keeping her hood on and heading directly for the cooler where the iced Starbucks brand coffees were, one of the ingredients she needed to concoct something that she had seen on a DIY video on Youtube.

Mason kept his gaze forward, as the man slowly crept up to him with his smile and gaze piercing into the van itself. Mason looked over at the man, but didn't say anything until he was right next to the van. But once he saw who it was, he felt a sudden sinking in his chest before he inhaled, ready to just floor it, but his thoughts were stopped when he heard Sammy banging on the interior of the van and started shouting at the man, "Eh! Get outta the road, ya prick!" Sammy leaned back as she spoke to Mason, "Hey, you'd better just move this thing before the guy losses his buzz." Sammy's response was very casual, almost uninterested, as she searched around the back of the van, looking for something in the moment
"What are- Wha- Why do-!" Mason stammered at Sammy's behavior to insult the man and then casually drop it. But despite that, with the man out of the way of the front of the van, he took his foot off the break and started to get he van moving, hoping to get away from the man as quickly as possible

Kore didn't seem to give a reaction to Caesar's nickname since it was just the many names she had been called before. Instead of a wave she simply returned the gesture with the tilt of her head, her eyes falling back to her phone once the man had existed the shop. She too murmured something under her breath with a furrow of her brows. The pink-haired woman laid back on her chair and lifted her legs to cross them on the counter. "Tsk tsk tsk..." She clicked her tongue.

Raven walked around the aisles with a decision made to go ahead and replenish a little of her junk food stash so that she wouldn't have to do it later. Scooping up a family-sized bag of salt and vinegar chips and another barbecue bag along with a pack of gum from the next isle over, she headed over to the counter and placed what she had so far down. Another beer wouldn't hurt, she thought to herself with he taste of the beer from Sammy and Mason still fresh on her taste buds. And so on her way she went back to the back of the store to fetch a Bud Ice, her lightweight drink, and was back at the counter within just a few seconds.

~

While Mason had his foot on the gas pedal, man's eyes locked onto him and watched as the van's tires lurched it forward. However, the van only moved barely inches forward despite the screeching of the tires as they were spinning against the gravel as if they were stuck in a burnout.

"MMmmm, We've found another." A hand suddenly stretched through the still down window of the driver's side and grabbed Mason's wrist, the owner being the man. And from his clenched teeth, through his wide grin came a chuckle-carried snaring voice spoke. "When the sun falls, your skin will be in the crevices of my teeth."
And in that moment, the man's sockets were filled with a color of reptilian green that held a disgusting luminosity that was like light shining over fog.

Things seemed to be snatched forward by reality, the van being released from its hold and left to go zooming forward as if had been shoved forcefully into acceleration all within the time frame of a flash of scorching orange.

Mason was looked down at the peddle, a slight bit panicked as to why the van wasn't moving. He was far too focused on the van to notice the man approach him from the side. Once he was grabbed by the wrist, his attention turned to the man, finally Mason's tough guy aura broke and turned into fear and shock as he looked at the man's face, taking notice of the eyes. But as Mason was in a sort of horrified trance, Sammy quickly scurried toward the window, having found what she was looking for: A small switchblade that she aimed at the window with, only to find that the man was gone and she was flung back as the van moved as a high velocity before Mason had to hit the brakes and stop the van from going out of control, stopping in the middle of the road with a car behind him blasting the horn. Mason panted heavily, clutching his heart as if he was about to have a heart attack. He reached into his pocket, still hyperventilating and took out an inhaler, squeezing the trigger and letting the air release into his lungs, slowly starting to calm his breathing but still in a state of panic, thinking to himself in silence, "A-Another!? The hell does that mean".
"Yeah, and don't come back, ya fuckin' pussy!" Sammy shouted through the window, despite not catching a glimpse of the man, falling back into her seat, almost too calm about the situation before she looked at Mason, "Shit, you okay, man? That psycho didn't hurt you or stab you with a needle or anything, right?"
"N-No. No, nothing like that" Mason spoke, only now hearing the horns that were behind him. Putting the van back into drive, he slowly got the van moving again, though his mind was still on the mans face and the words he spoke

While the van was off on its way, driven by its hectic driver, the man was nowhere to be found in the road nor on the sidewalk And left to stain the ground in between the space that had been between the van and the man were droplets of pale red blood. And with only a few eyes that had been drawn to the brief conflict, a wounded otherworldly creature made its escape with charred bits of pseudo flesh oozing from around its bony and hideously scaly fingers.

Mason continued to drive for a bit, then a bit more, then at least another five minutes before he finally came to a stop, feeling he made a good distance from the man. The van had parked around a suburban neighborhood. Mason was still incredibly shook up about the situation, and yet Sammy was more upset that she couldn't get a few insults on the man before he left. But far was she from being as shocked about the situation as Mason was. In fact, Sammy was more disappointed than anything. But she asked, "You okay, Mason? You aren't gonna be too traumatized, are you."
Despite her backhanded response, Mason felt a bit calmer with Sammy's response. He took in another breath, making sure to get another bit of air from his inhaler before he answered, "Yeah, don't worry. I've had a few scuffles before. That guy looked pretty weak and he didn't hurt me too bad. I'm just more surprised than anything."
"Good" Sammy said, patting Mason on the shoulder, giving him a smile before following up with a remark, "Because we still gotta meet Raven tomorrow and I'll be damned if some junkie piece of shit puts you in the hospital before then."
"You know, you are way to excited meeting a total stranger we just ran into a few minutes ago." Mason responded, giving an almost insulted tone. Despite that, his nerves were finally calmed down thanks to Sammy's mellow attitude to the situation, and finally got the van moving again

Kore rolled her eyes with a snicker when the next customer in line was coincidentally the same woman that was being sought for. The gum clicked in her mouth before she took her heels off the counter in order to begin charging. Her eyes wandered across the assortment of junk food, finding it funny how gluttony was obviously written all over hers and Yoon's face. She retrieved a bag and started scanning the items at her own pace, her earbuds still on yet hidden within her poofy pink hair.

A customer walked into the saloon that Yoon and her family worked at. A man, a rather well dressed, well groomed looking man, but with an aura about him that felt as cold as a winter night. His eyes moved across the place in as if trying to scan out the place for memory. But he only came up with a simple, "Hm" before he approached the front desk, waiting for any of the employees to greet him. He wore a light brown jacket over his black sweater, tan khaki jeans, black dress shoes, and had a rugged hair that almost looked charming if not for a few strands, most likely the reason he was here in the first place. But still, the tired, almost unwelcoming look that was on his face made it hard to tell what kind of person he was

Yoon, who was scolded by her mother once she found out she had taken off her festival uniform, was now forced to wear one of the older costumes of a reindeer that was packed away from last year. They couldn't find the stick on "red-nose", so the mother resorted to painting a red circle on Yoon's small nose. She did her best to remain unseen by the eye of the public, hiding behind the counter where her mom blocked her view unless her service was required by a client. And currently, all other staff members were busy.

Upon the stranger's visit, the older woman greeted him with a small bow. "Happy Christmas!" She said with a strong accent, her clipboard ready on hand. "What service you want? Nails half off today–give cuticles deep cleanse!" She exclaimed.

The man walked up to the counter now, giving a tired sigh. Up close, Yoon could get a better look at the man and his expression, or rather the lack of any expression. He seemed tired, yet he looked well rested. Well groomed, even. It was odd for him to be here at all. The man looked at the older woman, his slender body towering over the woman, and he replied casually, "Just a trim, that's all. I need to be out of here as soon as possible, so if we could speed things up, I'd appreciate that."

"Yes, we good with speed!" The owner nodded as she took a few notes down. "That be $9.50 dollars. Please, name here." She handed him the clipboard and pointed at the designated line for him to write on.

The mother looked back at her daughter who was scrolling on her phone. "Yoonie! 휴대 전화에서 내려!" She reprimanded her. "Work time now, break time later!"

Yoon blinked, her attention leaving the profile she was currently stalking. Well, technically, it wasn't stalking to her if she was asked for a friend request first. She wasn't sure how the woman from the gas station was able to find her Instagram, and looking through her public one, she was sure that Kore had to be some sort of weird--

"YOON!" The mother called again, making Yoon jolt out of her chair. She apologized quickly and saved her phone into her pocket, putting her hands behind her back as she awaited the customer to take him to his designated seat.

The man wrote down his name on the paper, putting down a ten dollar bill on the counter. As he was filling out the name, he finally took notice of the girl dressed in a rather cheap deer outfit. His momentum on the clipboard came to an abrupt stop at the sight of her, though his facial expression did not change before they moved back down to the paper and finished the name. With that, he stood up and looked at the girl, his hands in his pockets as he spoke, "Alright, I'll leave it to you. And try not to mess it up, okay?"

Yoon followed the salon's protocol and gave the new client a small bow, nodding softly at what he had requested. She had been doing this for many years now, so she wasn't worried as she would be doing anything else. The only part she was bad at in her job was engaging in conversation with customers since socializing wasn't her thing at all.

She led the man to an empty chair in front of a mirror, internally sighing when she was reminded about how she looked like. She awaited the man to sit down before wrapping the white napkin around his neck and draping the black cape over his body to protect any exposed area of falling hair.

The man closed his eyes as he rested in the chair, his body relaxing almost immediately as he allowed Yoon to start. As she was throwing the tarp over his body, he finally engaged her in a conversation, "So, the style? I assume it's all part of job to wear something like that this time of year". Though the man's words sounded cold, he followed up on it, "Don't take offense to it. It's part of the job and we all gotta do what we aren't proud of. I'm not exactly proud of having to attend a dinner party with people I don't rightfully care about, but it's for the company, so I have no choice in the matter." His honesty and personal life was already dumped out before Yoon could even get a chance to start the haircut. And even before she could do so, he followed up, "Sorry, ignore my ramblings. Today has been very stressful."

"I-I-it's okay..." Yoon mumbled as a response, pushing aside his comment about her outfit since it was embarrassing enough to have to look at herself in the mirror. But she couldn't agree more with today being a stressful day even though ironically it shouldn't have.

She retrieved a spray of water and began to spritz it all over the man's hair until it was soaked. Grabbing a clean comb, she began to brush the tangles out his hair and part it evenly so she could begin her trimming.

The man's fingers moved slightly and uncomfortably for a moment as his hair was sprayed with water, but eventually calmed his nerves. He kept his eyes closed once again before he continued to speak with her, "have you heard the news about strange occurrences in this city. It's definitely strange if you ask me. No drug addict or any crazy person could do that much damage to a person. Blowing up his entire body within a car. Either it's some dumb art project to get attention or... something else completely... But, you've probably heard a ton about that from other people, so I won't bore you with the details". He went silent again after yet another brief conversation. And once again, he stopped the conversation before Yoon could even throw in her thoughts on the matter

Yoon retrieved a thin pair of scissors before she finally gathered the courage to respond. "....heh w-what can I say... I-It's Florida--" She said in attempt of a joke, although, deep down she knew that was she was told was far from it.

Snip, snip, snip. The young woman began to trim off the ends of the man's hair, scooping sections up with the brush. The hair that fell stuck on the cape he wore, some falling on the ground as well. Yoon was very gentle compared to her other co-workers when it came to haircuts, even if that meant it required more time.

"No, it's nothing like that" the man finally added casually, his eyes finally opening. He looked into the reflection of the mirror, not at himself, but at Yoon as he spoke to her again, "I've lived here all my life, for twenty three years to be exact. I've seen all this city has to offer, from the greatest of pleasures to the worst curses. And in all my time here, I've never seen anything like this, not even in the worst this place has. Whatever this is, it's nothing normal. I'd say it's not even human... But, what does it concern me if it is. Maybe I'm just overthinking things. It's been a long day and having been busy with travelling while not talking to anyone does that. Well, at least, not talking about what you really think. With this line of work, you gotta talk about "The business" or "The family", so it's good to talk about something I'm mildly interested in. Even if it is with a total stranger."

"I'd say it's not even human..." Those words repeated in Yoon's head various times that she had unconsciously stopped her snipping. With everything that had happened so far, she wasn't even sure if she was human herself. Yasha never described her as being a danger, but what if she was? What if she ever became like that creature that attacked her months ago?

The young lady gulp, snapping back to reality as she finished her trim. "I-I'm sure the police will have this a-all under control..." She stuttered back, pumping a squirt of coconut oil before returning behind the man. With every haircut there was a courtesy of a scalp massage, and with that, she began to groom through the hair with the oil–lightly scratching here and there before using the bottom of her palms to massage the temples.

The man allowed his body to stay relaxed as he felt the oil was put into his hair, trying his best to remain calm with the situation before he continued, "Maybe, maybe not. Not that I don't have faith in the police, but I don't think this is something they can handle. This feels like something out of their league if you ask me. But, I could be thinking too much into it. Again, for all I know, it could be nothing. I mean... surely you must know what happened, right? I mean, a similar incident happened a couple months prior with a van. And a man. Both smashed flat. The man inside was reported unrecognizable by police. And since it happened in this mall's parking lot, I thought maybe you may have heard rumors about what may have happened... Eh, maybe not. The thought of anyone in this mall having anything more than just rumors and speculation." Once again, he casually dropped the conversation. But with the constant stream of questions and suspicions from the man, it was clear that he was more invested in these events then he let on

Yoon paused again, her eyes going blank as the memory of her being a victim in the parking lot resurfaced. Her stomach felt a little queasy, and she could still feel the touch of the monster's hands around her wrists and ankles. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, accidentally clutching the customer's hair tightly. But quickly she realized now was not the time at all and she released him. She never really felt angry against the person that did harm to her until now that she reflected back to it. It made her hands shake out of frustration, but she buried it deep in soul. Her hands met one another as if prayer before she started patting the customer's scalp to rid any tension that may be there.

"Ow" the man said casually. Though he felt the pain of his hair being gripped tightly, his face did not react much to the pain. But it did give him some sort of thought before he asked, "A strange reaction to have. But I guess it's a normal reaction to have given the circumstances. It was close to where you work, so I can imagine it would make you nervous." The man said, another conversation stopped before Yoon could respond. But finally, the man asked her a question, without stopping her, "What would you say about all this? Everyone has their own thoughts on the matter, so I wanted to hear what yours is."

"I-I-I'm sorry--" She quickly stammered with a gulp, drying her hands with a nearby towel. She nodded off his excuse as to why she was acting like this, avoiding eye contact momentarily as she went to go fetch the shaving cream and a old-fashioned blade for the trim around his face and neck. "...I-I don't have an opinion a-about it really..." She barely whispered, hoping she wasn't heard. She dipped the brush in the cream and began to lather it around the man's mouth and neck, thinking perhaps it would quiet him.

"Well surely you must have some opinion" The man said, able to hear Yoon clear as day, but before he could go on another of his ramblings, he was forced to close his mouth as the shaving cream was spread around his mouth. However, his eyes did not close this time and they kept looking between himself in the mirror to judge Yoon's handy work and to Yoon herself. Possibly due to curiosity or simply to make sure she wouldn't try anything to him. It's just what he thought of others, always having a distrust for anyone, even as someone as defenseless and harmless as Yoon clearly was

"uuuuuuhhhhh...." Yoon began, "M-My English no good--" She suddenly switched her accent to become heavier. "당신이 무슨 말을하는지 모르겠습니다." Yoon laughed awkwardly, thinking that perhaps not being able to communicate in the same language would make him lose interest. She sharpened the blade and gently began to graze it across the man's cheeks, tapping the excess of to begin a new section of ridding facial hair.

The man's gaze looked up at Yoon, his brow raising at her sudden shift, but gave a nod and responded, "Ah, I see. Yes, of course". With that said, he cleared his throat and responded casually, "사과드립니다. 이게 더 낫니." He kept his gaze on her, giving his hand a slight casual wave as he continued, "
대기업의 일원으로 가능한 한 많은 언어를 배우는 데 도움이됩니다. 나는 또한 중국어, 일본어, 독일어, 프랑스어, 폴란드어에 능통합니다 ...
어머니는 내가 충분한 교육을 받았다고 확신했습니다." Another wave of his hand came forth as he finished his sentence, as well as adding a conclusion to his response. But now his attention was fully on Yoon, no longer focusing on what his hair or face looked like. His eyes were completely locked onto her now

Yoon's eyes widened and she felt all saliva leave her mouth. What was it with everyone suddenly being able to speak Korean?! She felt her stomach drop again, and she had to lift the blade and pause for a moment before she would accidentally slice his throat open. She awkwardly chuckled and complimented his accent, avoiding eye contact while continuing to shave his chin.

The man gave a nod, able to now that the blade was raised from his face for a moment, before he continued his conversation, "글쎄, 나는 그 주제가 당신을 긴장하게 만들고 있다고 말할 수 있습니다. 그래서 나는 당신에게 다른 것을 말할 것입니다." With that, he turned his gaze back to the mirror for a moment to gaze at his appearance before he spoke, "
어떤 사람들은 이것이 마술의 일이라고 말합니다. 터무니없는가요?"

Yoon felt like punching herself in the face now that she had no other choice but to respond. However, she forced a laugh at his question. "마법? 마법은 존재하지 않습니다." She replied simply yet awkwardly. Once she was done shaving his face, she moved down to his neck where she grazed the very sharp razor to rid hair.

Hmm". The man replied casually before he gave a shrug, "나는 추측하지 않는다". With that, he finally ended the conversation, if only to keep Yoon from breaking her concentration as she worked on shaving the lights hairs around his neck. He relaxed back into the seat, having finally finished his conversation with her, for as awkward as it was for both of them

Yoon's focused eyes followed the blade that shaved the last bit of hair off his neck. She sprayed some water onto a towel and rubbed the excess foam off his face and neck, making sure it was cleared before patting some aloe vera upon it. Yoon then reached for the blow dryer to blow off the lingering hair on his body and dry his locks that were dampened earlier.

The man watched closely as Yoon finished off drying his hair, a look that was... much less different then when he walked in. In fact, his facial expression hadn't changed once since he arrived. However, he replied to his appearance in the mirror with a simple, "Hmm". which almost sounded like satisfaction. Regardless, he gave a nod and spoke again, "괜찮아 보인다".

(Okay, work time. May COLA be merciful for our barrage of bullshit XD)

Yoon put away all the accessories she used before taking off the cape from the customer. She dusted off his shoulder pads and combed his hair with her fingers in a similar style when he had first entered the shop. Afterwards, she continued with protocol and gave him a free wrapped peppermint followed by a cultural bow. "Tenk cue very much." She forced the accent so it wouldn't look like she was lying earlier.

The man stood up from the chair as Yoon was already bowing. Taking the peppermint and putting it into his pocket, the man then took out a small checkbook and started writing onto it. The pen he used was a fancy blue one with a gold rim and words on it that red Pepper's Shoes. After a short moment, he tore a check from the book, handing it to Yoon and replied, "당신은 팁을 받아들입니까?". Written on the check was the name of the man himself, Claudio McNeel. And written on the check was the amount he was offering: $5,000

While the items that she had picked out had been scanned, Raven checked them off mentally with her eyes following them across the counter. She was already regretting not holding off and just going to Wal-mart. Gas station prices were never merciful when it came to getting things in even small bulks. Luckily though, the majority of what she was going to purchase would probably last some weeks considering that she only ate a lot when she got her cravings out of nowhere. Half the time, the most she'd eat is one meal a day while the rest was just a mix of unhealthy and healthy snack foods throughout the rest of the day.

~

[Meanwhile,]

Yasha stared up at the temporarily unlit neon lights that belonged to the nightclub's sign. Not really what I expected from a place with such high ratings, she thought. Perhaps it was the fact that it was only just passed midday that was responsible for the building's distasteful and almost dusty appearance in the sunlight. And if weren't for her being so sure that this was where she would need to be, she would have assumed that the place was as vacant as the public housing that was a few blocks down.
She imagined the sight of the building at night, the lights that would dazzle under the moon with the miscreants of the late hours indulging in whatever it was that they could. She had never actually been inside any nightclubs of the sort, such things not being of interest to her. Especially with all that had to be done and avoided. However, she couldn't trick herself into believing that she wasn't at all intrigued.
Her gaze wandered to the cracks and small details that faulted the exterior of the buildin from usual stains to cigarette boxes, cigar wraps and bottles from the previous not that had yet to be taken care of. But perhaps now wasn't the time to be taken by interest.

The hairs on the back of her neck had lifted into a raise, and she felt the presence of bitterness and wicked intentions slithering within the vicinity. The Dael? Here? She was in the middle of muttering a few profane words out into the air until suddenly for a brief moment, something else entered the dulled field of her senses. It was powerful, bold and sharp yet elegant in nature. Even in that brief moment, she could feel the pressure of the aura enough to know that the user was experienced, perhaps very much so due to the fact that it disappeared just as quickly as it came, only to reenter the atmosphere.

With the possibility of it being another Keeper, Yasha's eyes quickly darted to the people around her as she began to walk briskly down the sidewalk.

~

[Miami, Florida]
[Nicholas Kingly Naepoal Jr. the Sixth]

"Nicholas?"

He jumped lightly at the sound of his name, turning to the short brunette that stood beside him with a worried expression as each stood on opposite sides of the velvet colored SUV that was squeezed in between to other vehicles in the school parking lot. "Huh?"

"I've been talking to you for the passed five minutes. You've been doing so a lot as of lately too. Has everything been alright sweetie? Those kids haven't still been trying to–"

"NO!" He answered hastily, interrupting her before she could remind him of the embarrassment that he had been trying so hard to forget.

The woman frowned some, the worry in her expression only increasing and her brows furrowing further in concern. "Are you sure? You've been quieter than usual these passed couple of days. You know that you can talk to me and Michael whenever you need to, right?"

"Yeah, I know." He replied to his mother in a mumble. But even as he spoke to her, the twisting in his gut only grew. Time and time again he had felt it throughout the passed few moments–and it only became more potent. It was like something had died within the air, pungent but with a form that felt like its sole purpose was to cause such a sickening feeling. And though he was still very much young and lacked a complete grip on what evil was, he couldn't help but to label it as that. And as much as he tried not to, he couldn't stop the small trembles of fear that held on to him when the feeling overwhelmed him, nor the thoughts that danger was nearby when it did. "C-can we go home now?"

"Huh? But honey I thought you wanted to go to the mall with Peter and Mrs. Coleman."

"I'm not feeling good. I feel sick." Again he answered hastily, pulling at the door's handle. "I..I just want to go to sleep." It was a lie because he knew that sleep was going to be impossible. And whatever it was that was out there, he had a feeling that it knew he existed. And it didn't like.

"Didn't you just spend your savings on resupplying your stash?"
Mason was having a conversation with Sammy, who was in the process of putting on her best looking boots before she turned her gaze to Mason and responded, "Hey, I need to get a good buzz for tonight. I work best when I'm under the influence." She chuckled, giving a stretch of her neck as she followed up, "Plus I don't exactly smell like roses, so I was gonna head to the gym too and use their shower there. You should probably shower too. You're starting to get that musty scent."
Mason crossed his arms a little, if only to hide the sweat stains under his arms that were starting to form from the heated van. He spoke in his defense, "You call it musty, I call is a defense mechanism."
Sammy gave a snort before laughing, waving him off, "Whatever you say. At least get some deodorant for that "defense mechanism" of yours while I'm out, okay."
With that, Sammy hoped out of the van, closing the doors behind her and making a light job down the sidewalk, leaving Mason to throw his sweater off and replace it with a less sweaty t-shirt with a band logo on it.

((I'm just gonna wait and post again when I can skip ahead to nightfall for things to really get started :P))

(Fine by me. Gotta wait to finish up Jade's posts and we can enact a timeskip)

((That's exactly what I had in mind actually. Now to finally start working on the juxtapositions.))

(I await these juxtapositions)

“I-I-I can’t accept that...” Yoon’s voice quivered, her eyes wide in shock yet amazement at such large bill. She shook her head softly. “I-It wouldn’t be ethical of me...” She lifted her hand to deny the offer but gave another bow. “B-But I thank you for your generosity, this shop is always available when you need it...”

***
Kore finished scanning the last item and tossing it in with the rest in a bag. She scooted it over and called out the total, which was shockingly half of the actual price. “Six dollars and fifty cents.”

"Oh, you speak English" Claudio responded with a raised brow. But he gave a shrug and put the check into his pocket. "Oh well". He followed up before turning on his heel and spoke "I look forward to another conversation, madam". With that Claudio walked out, giving a polite nod to Yoons mother on the way out

Yoon felt her cheeks redden when she realized she exposed actually being able to speak perfect English. Her throat constricted and she felt like apologizing, but the overwhelming amount of anxiety wouldn’t allow her to. She twiddled with her fingers behind her back before turning around and slapping herself on the forehead.

Mrs. Park waved goodbye followed by a short bow. “Bye bye handsome man! Happy Christmas, back here soon!” She called after.

Claduio gave a wave to Mrs. Park on the way out, exclaiming as he poked his head from the door. "Most certainly. I look forward to my next visit." With that, he went out the door and out down the mall, his thoughts on how Yoon had acted throughout, "That girl has a lot of burden on her shoulders" Claudio thought to himself, taking a piece of gum from his pocket and placing it onto his tongue before he started chewing to calm his nerves, "I'll have to check on her again in the future".

(And now I wait)

Yoon waited until he was no longer in the shop for her to be finally able to turn around. She sighed, scratching the back of her head and fetching a broom to sweep the fallen hair with to clean her station. Once done, she washed her hands and went back to take a seat in the counter, hidden from all mirrors so she wouldn't have to look at herself. She pulled out her phone and swiped the screen. But then her eyes widened completely when she realized her phone was on the entire time, and the movement of her body had unintentionally clicked unwanted buttons. "O-O-ohhh my go-god--- oh no no no no no--" She began to unlike all the pictures she accidentally liked from the account she was stalking earlier. She felt her heart sink when she realized there were weird comments left behind of random letters, deleting every trace she could.

Yoon looked at her own profile, cringing at what she had to witness. "M-Maybe she didn't notice..." She mumbled to herself as if prayer. She remained silent before momentarily returning to Kore's profile online, debating if she should apologize. Yoon found herself unintentionally staring at a picture uploaded two months ago, where Kore was vulgarly posing in a lingerie outfit she used for work sponsored by a retail company.

"What's that?" Yoon's little brother peeped behind her shoulder, his eyes sparkling at view–a red tint swelling on his cheeks.

"GAH!--" Yoon jumped, accidentally shoving her brother backwards. "N-N-NOTHING! Nothing at all!" She turned her phone off.

Sangeon squinted his eyes, shaking himself off the ground. "Was that... Were you watching P-O-R-N?" He spelled out.

Yoon blinked, surprised that her brother knew what that was in the first place. "N-No! That's disgusting!" She smacked his face so he would go away.

"IM TELLING MOM!" He shrieked, but before he could go any further, he found himself trapped in his sister's arms.

"No y-you're not! I-It was just a friend!"

"You don't have fwiends!" He snapped back with his lisp. "Let me meet her then!

"No you pervert! I'm telling mom you know what that word means!"

This made her brother pause and rethink his choices. He huffed and rolled his eyes. "Fiiiiiineeee.... but you buy me ice cream though."

"Whatever! Stop putting your nose in things that don't belong to you!"

This made Sangeon's brows furrow. ".......hipecrite..."

"Huh?"

"Hipecrite!"

It took a moment for Yoon to understand what he meant. And when she did, she groaned. "I'm not a hypocrite. It is my business because she is my friend and I just wanted to know how she was doing---" Yoon tended to speak abnormally fast whenever she was lying.

"Lauren will tell me if you're lying."

Yoon thumped her brother again. "Just because she bought you a toy doesn't mean she likes you enough to do that."

"She likes me more than you, what did she get you? Friendship?" He started laughing.

Yoon's eye twitched and she felt like launching her brother across the mall. She cursed at him in Korean, shoving him to the side and deciding to just carry on attending new customers in the counter to distract herself.

[Life of the Party, Death of a Club]

[Later on that day]
[Nightfall, 8:33pm]

Slluuuuurrrrrrrrp.
Raven sat aside her cup of hot green tea, her right hand still typing on the keyboard of her small macbook–the same one that she had had for the last five years or so. With the same hand, she wiped at her eyes in attempt to get the rest of the sleepiness out of them since she had only just waken up almost fifteen minutes ago. And for the most it worked, the events of earlier today still having a loose hold on her like a high that was wearing off. She couldn't stop thinking about Mason and Sammy either, still very much anxious about meeting up with them tomorrow.
Her attention wandered to the corner of her screen to take a peep at the time only for her to reel back a little in surprise. "Already? How long I have I been sleeping?!" She cursed at herself in groans, knowing that she was going to have to cut her watching of podcasts and old Vines short so that she could get to work on time. In actuality, she always got there at least a half and hour early because one, she was punctual and two, no one was there when she arrived except for perhaps one or two of the employees who were there for the opening hours.

And so she went to roll out of bed and went to go take a quick shower with the addition of cosmetics but stopped short. Her gaze settled on the next costume that she would be wearing for tonight: a rubber and leather all-in-one body suit that was made to where it looked as if skin was showing in some areas(after all, she was feeling just a little more daring, and just thinking of the thrill wouldn't let her resist it), a baggie blue coat with growling tigers in black at the sleeves, some gloves that were made to look like robotic hands and fingers, and a black and pink Kitty Skull hat(a brand that was a little less known that she was paid to promote tonight) that would go perfectly with the newest addition to her collection of masks. And to top it all off, her choice of hair dye for the night since it was about time for a new color. But the longer she stared at it, the more she began to feel something strange. A feeling in her stomach that screamed danger and encouraged the sickly butterflies that came afterwards.

There's no way in hell that he followed us, she thought back to the horribly strange man with the out of place look. They had been long gone by the time he reverse-walked down the street. Which meant that he couldn't have found her anywhere right? "Right," She said aloud to reassure herself before she continued on her way for her job that awaited.

~

"Is there anything else that I can getcha while your here?"

"Another glass of water will be fine, thank you." Yasha answered the waiter's courteous offer, not wanting to seem as if she was there to just occupy space if she hadn't already. One of the waiter's from the previous shift had already assumed that she had been ditched by a date and had tried flirting only to be disappointed when she told him that she already had a significant other, which wasn't exactly a lie. Either way, it was enough to shoo him away and leave her to tapping her foot against the floor impatiently like she had been doing the last hour and a half as she waited. And again, she lifted her phone to check the time and saw now that her wait was nearly over. The Soirée Epicée would be open in under half an hour, which meant that it was time for her to take her leave.

But before she did so, she debated on whether or not she would give Yoon a call. However, she didn't want to interrupt her holiday time with her family and with that in mind, she decided to send a text message instead that read, Good evening Yoon. I hope that you've decided to stay in good holiday spirit and enjoy what is left of the day. I wish you all a happy holidays once more, and a goodnight.

With that, she stood up and left the Waffle House that she had taken refuge to wait.

Sammy had finally stepped out of the hot shower, the crank squeaking before she pulled the towel in, drying off her hair and wrapped the towel around her body, giving a stretch as the satisfying "Pop" of her bones settling let her moan softly. She had decided to stay a few extra hours and get some exercise in at the gym instead of head back to Mason immediately. She was already refilled on her supply for the night thanks to one of her contacts. But a part of her really wanted to look and feel her best for tomorrow. She approached the mirror and started to comb her hair in a hurried manner, hoping to get back to Mason before he started worrying, a thought that made her chuckle

Mason had decided to step out of the van for a bit and enjoy the scenery outside. Leaving the van parked outside of the gym that Sammy was at, he contemplated if he should lock the van or leave it open, but still feeling the sense of dread from before, he decided to lock it and thought it was justified. "If Sammy really wants to get in, she should've came back sooner" Mason thought to himself. He needed to get some inspiration anyway, so with his earbuds in his phone, listening to a few tracks by the Foo Fighters, he was getting his creative juices flowing, thinking about what he would work on next for his and Sammy's novel. With the sun already set and the moon high up, it allowed Mason to finally cool off, if just a little, from the microwave that was the van