Raven gulped. "Yeah, uh, sure–right." Her eyes averted from Sammy. "W-well, I'm twenty-one years old and um..I live in an apartment by myself. I..used to live in Los Angeles before I moved here." She stammered a little as she spoke, not having being used to having to tell someone about herself in a long time. Not to mention she was looking to play it safe. And so when she had the opportunity, she switched the subject. "There's another turn up ahead to the right, and it'll be a straight shot from there until we're closer."

~

The rest of the ride to the hospital was silent between the two gentlemen even when they arrived at the hospital.

Abel felt that there was no need for anything further to be spoken after the information he needed was shared and order were given to those he had been given authority over. He exited the car and as it pulled off behind him he looked up at the window to what had previously been Yoon's room not to long ago. He scoffed dryly, starting towards the door and entering the building to make a visit to Nicholas's room.

"Got it" Mason nodded, keeping an eye out for the turn she mentioned as he adjusted his rear view mirror to speak with Sammy and Raven without taking his attention away from the road
Sammy waited for Raven to finish with the directions before she continued the previous conversation, "L.A.?! Seriously? That's sick. I bet you know all the coolest parts of that place. I'd like to go there some day, but Mason tells me it's a 'leech cesspool of talent and charisma where only money is left" or something like that" Sammy made her fingers bend to imitate quotes at this, with Mason rolling his eyes and spoke up in defense, "Am I wrong? No offense to your home town, Raven, but that place just screams plastic to me."
"Plastic? What are you, a shitty Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute singer? A city is a city. It's just a person that's shitty, Mason" Sammy said with a snicker before turning back to Raven, "Nevermind this guy. He's just very blunt with his opinions"

"I wish I could disagree," Raven mumbled. He wasn't really wrong. If she was able to explain her hometown in anyway then it would be a fish tank full of sharks that would resort to eating each other out of the need to "get ahead". A place of scams and opportunities to scam. But at the same time, there wasn't all bad there and so she felt the need to defend it. "I mean, its not all that bad when it's been your home. There are a lot of nice people there. Sure, it can be a jungle sometimes but there are plenty of opportunities if ya know how to move right. Alotta cool places and people there, and knowing the right people can come in clutch when ya need it to. Plus, we got the coolest slogan to our city, The City of Fallen Angels." She had always found it badass that no other state aside from New York had something that stuck so well. Something so unique that accompanied its name.

"Nyaaah, Yoonie, I tell you to wash lettuce with WARM salt water, no cold!" Kyung-ha pinpointed while chopping the scallions with great skill.

Yoon rolled her eyes. "But when it's warm then it gets all mushy!" She complained.

"Oi, that's the whole point!" The mother paused her chopping. "I tell you to wear nice clothes too, why you wear cat outfit?" She asked in reference to her hoodie. "Need to show off nice arms and shoulders."

"Last time I recalled you called me fat. And too dark." Yoon muttered, still a little down from earlier. She was surprised as to how normal her mother was acting regarding the whole situation.

Kyung-ha dismissed her accusation with a wave of her hand that held the sharp knife. "Yoonie, I just kidding." She said, tossing the chopped scallions into the sizzling pan, followed by various cups of rice. She stirred vigorously, gradually adding the egg yolks in with a pinch of sesame oil. "Guests can be here any minute, you still look like hobo." She snickered.

"Mom, I'm pretty sure emo douchebag is not showing up."

"Abelpie? Abel pie always shows up. If not maybe little Nicholas boy will, I invite him too." She hummed to herself, setting the skillet aside. She dipped her pinkie inside the tteokboki broth that was still cooking, giving a satisfied sigh after her taste test.

"...you WHAT?!" Yoon exclaimed, almost dropping the grand bowl of salad as she did so. "How could you invite that racist punk of trash?!"

"Oiiii Yooniee, watch your mouth!" She pointed the knife at her. But then she chuckled. "If racist, why he come to Korean dinner?"

Yoon scoffed. "I-I don't know, but he called me slanty eyes!"

"Hmmm... but you do have slanty eyes." Kyung-ha blinked. "Pretty Korean eyes, oke? You old enough to not get offended."

"B-But--"

"Nyaaaah, rinse lettuce!"

"No! I don't want to be anywhere near that freak show–" Nicholas was shaking his head in absolute denial. "She's nothing but a stupid bully–she threw my phone out the window! Why wouldn't I want to see her dumb face?!"

"Because attending isn't for her benefit. Attending has nothing to do with her, but the woman who's been so kind as to consider inviting you." Abel answered him sternly. "Her mother expects you to attend."

"I don't care," Nicholas yelled at him angrily. "My dad was on that phone! And because of that squinting douche I don't have it anymore! I don't have anything anymore!" He was on the verge of tears but held them back the best he could, not wanting to let the man see his tears. "I'm not going to the stupid lunch so leave me alone!" And though the man's cold eyes caused him to shrink down against the bed some, he still refused.

Abel stared at Nicholas, wondering if yanking him from the bed and forcing him to go would be plausible out of irritation. Logic told him that the best method to apply was to sympathize with the child, so in the end he decided against it, knowing that it would only make things that much more complicated in the future. "Fine. I'm not going to force you to attend. But you'll be remaining here under surveillance until further notice. And you will comply." He turned around and left the room and soon was leaving the hospital.

"See, not all bad" Sammy said with a nod, "I've always wanted to go there one day. Maybe I can if I have you showing me around" Sammy gave another, bigger grin, before breaking out into a chuckle, Mason rolling his eyes as he finally made the turn to the next side, Sammy adding on top of that "Forgive Mason, he kind of has this baby attitude about things, as in he will hate something immensely or love it a lot. There is rarely an inbetween with this guy."
"I see nothing wrong with being passionate about my emotions" Mason once again defended, already on the ball before Sammy can add more unto it

A half an hour had passed, and the Park residence now marked their territory with the mouthwatering scent from the various traditional meals Kyung-ha had prepared. The aroma exited through the crevices of the door and filled the apartment halls with warmth and comfort. And although their home was small, Ms. Park's meals had everyone reminisce about something greater. Something that brought each individual to feel as if they were home, even if being miles away from it.

Yoon, despite efforts of her mother attempting her to change into something nice, kept her paw-print hoodie on and wore it proudly. She didn't bother to change from her sweatpants either since they were so comfortable. After all, she knew she would be eating a lot tonight so her stomach would need all the space it could get without tight clothing restricting it.

"No no, not like that!" Kyung-ha shook her head, assorting the side dishes around the table accordingly. "You stack too much kimchi on right side. Selfish cat." She called her daughter, knowing exactly what she was trying to do. "Ooo, we done! I go get drinks!" She rushed back into the kitchen.

Raven didn't show it, but she was completely against the idea of ever going back to Los Angeles of all places with Sammy. There was no way she could do that. The things she had endured, the amount of psychological stress that she had been put under was enough for her to rebuke the even the smallest thought of it without hesitation. It wasn't so much of L.A. itself, but the people that drove her away like she had been some sort of disgusting animal. As long as they were there, she wouldn't dare go back unless she absolutely had to. "So..where are you guys from?" She got around to asking, a question that she had wondered about before. "You guys from the same town?"

~

A half hour later a car was pulling in to the parking lot of the Park's apartment building. A tow truck was driving off with a vehicle who's roof had been crushed nearly into the floor of it, the 4th one to be taken from the lot.

The car was parked in a empty lot close to the street, Abel exiting it on the driver's side a couple of seconds later. The first thing that he noticed while getting out of the car were the repairmen that were returning to the building with a set of heavy tools and thick cables. Upon entering the building, he found that they were repairing the elevator in it's entirety. He immediately took notice of the massive hole that was still in the ceiling above him, and his brows furrowed. He had been aware that there had been damage done, but he hadn't expected it to be to this extent. And so he was left to take the stairs up to the second floor.

"Pfff, yeah right" Sammy said with a bit of laughter in her voice before she continued, "We come from a small town in Ohio. We didn't have anything like this. We had a school, a few stores, maybe a local park for kids, and that was it. It was a nowhere town in a nowhere part of the country. I have absolutely no intentions of ever going back." Despite her joyful mood, there was a hint of agitation and even aggression in her voice in the last sentence. But there was no time to take too much notice as Mason added, "Yeah, we don't exactly have a reason to go back, let's just say"

"Mom can we please just start eating---"

"Nyah." Kyung-ha interrupted Yoon and shook her head, placing the pitcher of sweet liquid on top of the table. She had to call her son who was playing by himself in her room to come out and wash his hands. "He come soon, maybe you just scare him away." She teased.

Yoon scoffed. "Pshh, scare that tree away?" She shrugged. "If anything it's your weird nicknames that drove him away."

"Yoonie pie, don't be jealous now." Kyung-ha chuckled, drying her hands and giving the towel to Sangeon when he was done.

"IM NOT FRIGGIN JEALOUS!" Yoon blushed in anger. "Just saying that we don't need to invite the babysitter all the time." She muttered.

"He no babysitter, he your family. Like brother." She corrected.

"Ugh..." The thought of that made her want to gag.

"I can relate," Raven had to stop herself from sighing, not wanting to put too much of her own emotions into the fray. But that didn't take away from the fact that she definitely could. "It's why I kinda..haven't been back home in a while." Besides, Florida had become her new home. It was where she had gotten her chance to start over. She found a job, learned how to make a living for herself and become somewhat successful at it despite only living in an apartment. She had something to call her own, a way to provide for herself, and a place to live where she was comfortable enough to be happy. And that was all she needed.

~

Abel's firm knock came from the other side of the door a minute later, and he stood patiently waiting for it to be answered. While waiting his thoughts went back to the hospital, back to Nicholas. While he had been on his way to attend Kyung's lunch, he had already managed to put more pieces together to what he already had a clue of as well as how he was going to have to use that clue.

Yoon cringed when she heard a knock from the door. She groaned to herself, making eye contact with her mother who laughed at her and told her to open the door. The young woman tapped her foot against the ground in agitation, debating whether she should just ignore the knock and fight her mom to keep it closed until Abel would eventually leave. But after receiving the cold stare of a scold from her, she realized she didn't have an option to her mother's request. Yoon sighed, dragging her feet purposely to buy time in opening the door. But she soon figured the distance wasn't long enough to make a significant difference. She dusted her hoodie off a bit before clearing her throat and opening the door, having to raise her head some to make eye contact with him. Her nose was scrunched, her brows furrowed to display her clearly unamused expression. She choked on her words out of habit when socializing before muttering. "..so we m-meet again.... tree..." Yoon said distastefully. "Shoes off." She rolled her eyes, walking back inside the apartment. However, Yoon's rather negative greeting was replaced by Kyung-ha's cheerful smile and motherly wave.

"Oii, Abel-pie you made it!" She exclaimed cheerfully. I made you your favorite foods as welcome back gift." Ms. Park chuckled, knowing he had access to all of this in Korea.


And when Abel turned to his right where Kyung-ha was pointing at, he saw the origin of the mouth-watering scent in the halls. The most noticeable, or rather frequent observation on the table was that there was hardly any empty space on the clear top. This was due to the abundance of side dishes Kyung-ha had prepared to include everyone's favorites, which consisted of kimchi, pickled radish, golden rice, cold mash potatoes with chive and seasoned spinach, stir-fried anchovies, a medium sized bowl of japchae noodles, and more. However, the two larger bowls sat right at the center of the table. The first and most attractive one was a platter of over thirty pieces of glistening Korean chicken topped with sesame seeds. One could even see their own reflection with an orange hue of course. There were two layers of different colors, which could only mean there were two flavors of chicken, the first being honey garlic and the second the typical tangy chicken. The next bigger dish was one of Sangeon's favorites: sweet and spicy tteokbokki with fishcakes. Although Kyung-ha was never one to brag, she knew she made the best tteokbokki in existence due to her additional touches of stringy cheese and hard boiled eggs, which added a creamier and chewy but flavorful texture. To drink, her family would be enjoying her famous sikhye, a refreshing but sweet rice drink that would wash down the surplus of heavenly food the guests would get to enjoy. However, very noticeably being Yoon's chair, there was a can of coke waiting to replace the traditional drink.

(heaven)

"Well, I guess we can relate to that" Sammy said with a shrug, finding that the conversation had taken a bit of an awkward turn. Sammy gave it a bit of thought before she responded again with a nod, "Uh, enough about where we live, tell us about what you do? You know, to pay the bills and all that. Bet it can't be as exciting as writing articles on a website like Mason does."
"It's more exciting than you think" Mason replied dryly, thinking about all that had happened yesterday and then thinking about all the articles on his website, thinking about the merits of how true they all were

Raven's heart jumped in her chest a little when Sammy asked her what she did for a living. She she had been hoping that it wouldn't have came up in the conversation, though from the moment she was asked about herself she had expected it. "I uh...I kinda...freelance?" She answered, but it came out as more of a question. Which was true for the most part. But she didn't think that it was enough to cover for herself. "I uh..I draw and paint for people...on the internet..." And though it wasn't her main source of income, though now with her job being not so much of a job anymore that would probably have to change, or even made up 20% of it was another way that she managed to make money on the side for materials that she needed to make her costumes with. Which weren't exactly cheap.

~

"..so we m-meet again.... tree..."

"And so we have, shrub." Abel had replied not only in response to being called a tree, but also the obvious difference in height, his gaze leaving Yoon right afterwards dismissively. When he was told to take his shoes off, he was already in the middle of doing so. He had known Kyung-ha long enough to know that traditions didn't change, and neither did her sense of cleanliness. He was in the middle of removing his second shoe when Kyung came to the door. He looked as if he tried to give a smile, but like before the corner's of his lips barely lifted. "I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Kyung. And as always, your skill in the arts of culinary have yet to disappoint," He said in reference to the aroma that waved through the halls. He gave her a small respectful bow. "Permission to enter?"

"Wow, seriously?!" Sammy said with a bit of surprise, "You never told me you were an artist, Raven. That's something we got in common. You remember when me and Mason told you about us wanting to create our own stories with detailed pictures, right? Maybe we can compare each others work sometime and help improve in our own fields." Though Sammy was a bit curious as to why Raven responded with the sound of a question, she was more than happy to hear about Raven's artwork, always finding some pleasure in unique art styles and always wanted to try and help people improve in their own way. Mason, however, interjected, "Oh please, Sammy, I bet Raven will be the one doing most of the help."
"Eh, shut it! My arts better than you think it is!" Sammy said, shaking her fist at him

“—WHO THE HECK ARE YOU CALLING SHRU—“ Yoon was interrupted before she could finish, a small blush already swelling across her nose and cheeks.

“—ABEL PIE!” Kyung-ha called again to break up the nonsense before it escalated. She was glad to see he could make it. And although his tie wasn’t necessarily colorful, she still appreciated the effort. Ms. Park smiled lovingly at him. “Oi, you are always welcome here. Permission to enter forever!” She announced with a small chuckle. “Sit where you want, plenty food for everyone!”

Yoon’s eye twitched as she glared at him enter the house. She huffed, stomping her way to her seat. She wasn’t used to a male person being in her house, especially not one her age. She hated the way he talked and dressed. Refusing to believe she could potentially be childish, Yoon found Abel to be a show-off and a know it all with a hint of mommy’s little boy. After all, for some reason Kyung-ha seemed to care more about him in certain aspects.

"I-I don't really consider myself an artist or anything," Raven said quickly, but humbly when she indeed remembered Sammy and Mason telling her about their pitch. "Besides, you guys's stuff is probably way better than mine anyways and..."

We don't need you and your...whatever this is fucking this family up!

"..And I'm sure I'd just mess things up anyways," She said with a sort of chuckle to hide the glumness that the words that came to mind had brought.

~

Abel thanked Kyung-ha again as he was entering the home, and once he was inside he observed the new setting that he was in. He stood there for a minute, getting a feel for the place before he approached the table, ignoring Yoon's glare altogether as he took a seat in the chair at the other end of the table where he awaited Kyung-ha, not daring to touch anything she had prepared until she was seated.

As Raven gave a chuckle, she would soon find that Sammy had inched closer to her, perhaps a little too close as she stared her in the face, speaking in an almost stern, yet comforting manner, "Hey, that's not true at all. You can't go selling yourself short like that before we even see what you got, Raven. And this isn't a competition on who's better. There's a place for all kinds of style of art. Two vastly different styles can both be great if given the right material to work with. And there's no way you can mess anything up, Raven." Sammy gave Raven a humble smile and a nod, hoping to reassure her
"I mean, it's pretty hard to mess up something we don't exactly have, so... You know, don't worry about it, Raven" Mason said with a light chuckle, which was followed with no laughter from either of the two, especially Sammy who just turned to him with a blank expression before he added, "T-That was a joke". when no follow up was added, he just gave an awkward cough before adding, "We're almost there now"

When Raven looked up, she jumped a little when she found that Sammy was much closer to her than before. Much too close for comfort–not that she had any room to talk. Staring back into her face, a hot red stung her cheeks while she was being encouraged to have more confidence in her work. Sure, she had a friend or two tell her something similar. But those were usually the cliche "You can do it"s and things of that nature, not that she didn't appreciate them wholeheartedly. But they weren't the same as how Sammy put it. Sammy, who hadn't even seen the things that she had drawn or painted.
When Mason spoke she turned to look at him as well, or rather the back of his seat because of the fact that she was behind both their seats. And upon him announcing that they were almost there, she sat there awkwardly herself before saying to Sammy softly while looking down at her lap, "Thank you. I..I think I needed that."

Sammy rolled her eyes at Mason before she turned her attention back to Raven with a soft smile, giving her a nod, "Hey, don't worry about it. I do what I can to pick people up when they feel bad about their talent, that's all. You just gotta find what you like and stick to it, that's all. Find what satisfies you."
"Wow, that was actually genuinely nice from you, Sammy" Mason replied with a grin on his face
"The fuck is that supposed to mean?!" Sammy said, putting her hands on her hips as she turned to him with a sour look on her face

Raven looked back and forth between the two at their exchange, and when Sammy turned to Mason, hands on her hips and all, she was a bit stunned. Her lips quivered some until finally, she started laughing.

The young woman's laughter sounded like a delicate and soft "heeheehee", and her voice elevated to a slightly lower pitch.

But just as soon as she started she clapped her hand over her mouth before it could last long, blushing in embarrassment. She didn't like the sound of her laugh much either. "S-sorry," she apologized, not wanting to offend anyone.

Sammy and, even Mason, though only because they were at a stop light, turned to look at Raven when she laughed, and at the sound of it, even Sammy and Mason couldn't help but to laugh with her, Sammy following after, "Hey, don't worry about it. We're just glad that you're having fun."
"Yeah, don't worry about it" Mason said with a nod to her, "Don't be ashamed of how you express your own kind of joy."
"Yeah, what Mason said" Sammy said with a nod of agreement, returning yet another kind smile to Raven, "So you just go ahead and laugh as much as you want, Raven."

Yoon found herself glaring at Abel even when she was seated, especially now that he saw across from her. However, unlike him and his patience, Yoon went right ahead to enjoy herself a taste of the japchae noodles side dish. Meanwhile, little Sangeon’s undivided attention was on the Korean chicken, licking his lips and swinging his legs back and forth as a distraction. He didn’t even question Abel and his presence, figuring there was no need to since what was on the table could potentially feed dozens of mouths. Their mother came around a few seconds later to distribute the glasses for the sikhye before finally taking a seat herself. She rolled up her cuffs and smiled. “Enjoy!~” She announced cheerfully before helping herself to mix a spoonful of tteokboki into her golden rice. And when the flavors melted into her palate, she knew her hours of preparation was worth it.

Raven's hand slowly, though hesitantly, lowered from her mouth and shyly smiled at them both. Her stiff posture started to find relaxation, her shoulders resting themselves. She reminded herself that that's why the three of them had all come together in the first place was to have fun.

The entire atmosphere of the van slowly shifted into a more tranquil one, the tension of awkwardness being loosened and eased away. Mason would be able to sense the shift much more so than Sammy. It was like the space that they occupied had been massaged.

~

While every began to eat, Abel stared down at his food blankly with an invisible frown. He began to eat slowly, starting with the kimchi and pickled radish. But unlike Yoon and Sangeon, he checked everything thoroughly with a single gaze before taking his first bite. He ate like he would at a high end restaurant, not quickly stuffing his mouth nor eating too slow and instead taking in moderate portions at a time.

Yet the strangest and most bizarre thing was that when it came to the dish that had a naturally hotter temperature than the rest, the dish being a small bowl of yukaejang that sat beside his meal, the well dressed man didn't attempt to cool it in any sort of way. Each spoonful was steaming hot, yet he seemed to have no reaction to the hot it was. The small glass bowl would have been hot enough to make an unsuspecting person drop it completely, yet he held it within his bare hand to add some of the soup to his rice.

Mason's eyes looked around the van at the sudden feeling in his body. It wasn't something that felt bad, but something about it, it gave off this physical atmosphere, like it was right there with him. Sammy let out a stretch to wake herself up, still not fully awake from the events of last night, but she kept up her peppy attitude as she spoke, "Looks like we're almost there Raven. Can't wait to see what this place is like."

Sangeon observed Abel curiously as he ate, attempting to mimic him for fun. However, he soon came to learn that was a big mistake when he almost burnt his tongue off. At this, Yoon chuckled out loud, covering her mouth as she did so. She opened her can of coke and took long sips.

Kyung-ha watched each person she considered her family, happy that they all seemed satisfied. Using her chopsticks, she scooped up some japchae and wrapped it around a honey garlic drumstick before taking a generous bite. Her and Abel were definitely the ones who ate at a calmer pace, meanwhile Yoon and Sangeon acted like they hadn’t eaten in years.

"It'll be rockin, I promise." I hope. Raven bit her lip a little nervously in hopes that either of them wouldn't be disappointed or worse, find the place lame. Then again, she had found the place while acting as Roux, which drew enough attention to get the business rolling along. And to her, that counted for something. I should've smoked a joint before I left, she thought, feeling the slightest bit jittery. "

~

Abel eyes only narrowed towards Yoon for a second and then moved over to Sangeon. "Be more careful to not harm yourself imitating others," he went on to say while continuing with eating. And though he ate, he didn't enjoy it. His attention went to Kyung and he asked, "How long have you been lived here in this residence? Was it your first after arriving in the states?"

"Well, whatever it is, I'm sure it will be fun" Sammy replied with a smile as she turned to Mason, "Sure, Mason here is easy to impress, especially with the shit we saw last night, but hey, I'm down to see something new"
"D-Don't say that, Sammy" Mason said in regards to what they had to deal with all of last night. He didn't want Raven getting curious and start asking questions. So instead of adding on, he just rolled his eyes, finally turning onto the street where the place was said to be. Sammy peeked out the window, a bit excited at what they were coming to. It was clear that she couldn't contain her excitement

Sangeon's head perked when Abel spoke, a soft blush tinting his chubby cheeks. However, his sister only glared across the table at the man, rolling her eyes at his comment about imitating others. She mumbled under her breath, stirring the rice cakes and japchae noodles within her bowl before taking large bites.

Kyung-ha patted her mouth with a napkin when Abel had asked his question. She shook her head softly with a small frown. "Hmm... 6 years. And no, I need move three times." She informed him. "First one monster incident nearby, second evicted, and third no like the smell of Korean food." She blinked in thought of people's absurdity. But the one thing all apartments she previously inhabited had in common was too much of a pricey cost. She was paid very well while working for the Constables, and she realized that was a major downfall when she retired. Therefore she had to settle for less where she currently lived. However, it was close to her line of work at the mall so it wasn't all that bad. Of course, she didn't enjoy the noisy city but it was out of her reach to change that. "But... we comfortable now." She smiled at him. "And when Yoonie move out we more comfortable." Kyung-ha joked. Sangeon chuckled softly, his tongue still hanging freely to soothe the burn he experienced. Yoon's face darkened, lowering her head some to shield her expression with her short hair.

"I joke, I joke Yoonie-panoonie." She giggled again at the glare she received from her daughter, her attention shifting to Abel. "And you, Abel-pie? Where you settle in Korea, hm? Work treating you oke?"

From outside a local burger restaurant, Leo was sitting outside at one of the tables, enjoying a combination of a burger the size of a fist, a large box of salted fries, and a large cup of soda. He wasn't one for grocery shopping aside from the occasional beer and bag of chips when local restaurants were closed, and would mostly settle for fast food to get by. He was already aware of how unhealthy it was for him, but he had given up trying to quit a long time ago. He decided to leave his body at the mercy of whatever he put inside of it. As he took a bite out of the burger, he looked over at his phone, contemplating calling Kyung-ha. He thought he could hold off his investigation on the premises there for at least a couple more hours. He wasn't exactly considered the hardest worker in his establishment, at least not compared to his old days. So instead he looked through his list of other contacts, contacts of others that had a better lay of the area than he did. He could call the new guy that joined, but he was not one to work with rookies. So instead, he scrolled his phone down to his last source. A source he was not too invested in calling, but had no other choices. As he opened it up, he typed out his text, hitting send without a second thought
"Yo Kore. It's Leo"
"Could use a tour around this place"
"Think you can show me around
I'll make it worth your while
Dinner or something
But only fast food

When Kyung had told Yoon that what she had said had been a joke, Abel's eyebrow twitched as if it were going to raise in question but couldn't follow the rising motion through. It was not a joke to him, but a reasonable conclusion to him. After all, it was only logical that one less individual in a household would allow more freedom to a single parent financially and when deciding on requirements for space.

And so he instead shifted his attention to the question asked and answered, "Yes, the organization has been enlightening these passed years. Their treatment has been fair. I now live in Andong, where I've lived since my acceptance into the organization."

~

Raven's brows raised a little as she witnessed Sammy's excitement. She wondered how much of a good sign this really was, and thought less about how she could possibly screw up what seemed to be life giving her a break. She almost sighed in relief, opening one of the doors and climbing out of the van to stretch. She immediately stepped up onto the sidewalk, facing a building that was called Arcadia while waiting for Sammy and Mason.

Arcadia, a red building with a large spray painted sign above it that displayed its name in neon outlined letters. The entrance was merely a open doorway that probably had a gate that kept it secure during unopen hours.

As Mason put the van into park and turned the engine on, Sammy had already thrown open the other door and hopped out, landing on her feet with a bit of a wobble due to the style of her shoes not made for such an attempt, though she was lucky to keep standing. Mason stepped from the opposite side of the van with a slow shake of his head as he spoke to Sammy, "You're gonna break your ankle jumping like that, you know."
"I'll be sure to remember for next time, mom" Sammy joked before she turned back to Raven, putting her hands into the pockets of her jacket as she nodded, "Alright, lead the way, Party Pro Rave".

"Andong?" Kyung-ha's head tilted, a small smile conjuring on her face at the memory of her last visit there. It was definitely one of her favorite places to travel to within Korea. "Ooh, Yoonie, you remember Andong? I take you there in nice Korean dress when you were baby––I have picture!" She was about to stand up and fetch her photo album to show Abel before her daughter stopped her.

"아니!" Yoon begged with a full mouth of food. Both cheeks protruded heavily thanks to them being stuffed with a mixture of chicken, rice, and tteokbokki. She chewed vigorously to swallow the food, calming down some when she saw her mom sit back down. She sighed of relief, sipping her can of coke rather than the traditional rice drink. "L-Let's just... eat.."

Kyung-ha rolled her eyes. "Oke, oke..." She finally gave in before taking a sip of her beverage before returning to the conversation she had with Abel. "I am glad all is well with you and organization. But I am more glad to see you again. I have all my favorite people in one room now." She giggled. "My family."

"I don't remember an emo tree while growing up." Yoon added pettily while dipping her chicken into some homemade sauce.

"Eeeh?" Kyung-ha questioned. "I took you to my work once when I no find babysitter. You met Abel-pie once before, maybe too young for you to remember. You try playing doll with him, but we had work to do." She tapped her chin in memory. Yoon refused to believe her mom since she had no memory of that whatsoever. She chewed on her chicken quietly.

* * *

After a couple minutes, Leonard's phone buzzed and it was a text message back from no other than the infamous pink-haired lady.

"Hmm..."

Kore is typing...

"But I want Fettuccine Alfredo." Kore responded stubbornly with an emoji of a smirking devil at the end. And as Leo thought of what to reply, he got another text message with an attachment a few seconds later. It was a gif of Kore herself in portrait mode, wearing a black tank top consisting of a design of several skulls. She was pouting her face while propping her breasts with her elbows to expose more of her cleavage on purpose. After all, she was known for getting what she wanted by being a slight tease.

Leo almost dropped his phone at the sight of her showing her body off, setting it back down to make sure that no families were around as he texted back under his hand
"You know I'm in public right"
Still, if there was one thing Leo had a weakness for, it was the alluring body of a woman, even if it was just to get what they want. Leo couldn't help but take one more peek before he set the phone back down to think of a response, texting back again,
"Sounds a bit pricey for restaurant food. Fine, but you better make it worth that kind of money. I don't want you taking me on a tour around the block or some shit."
He rolled his eyes at her answer, making sure to take just one last peek at the picture before hitting send, setting the phone back down as quickly as possible before any passerbys showed up, going right back to his meal as he waited ever so patiently

Abel didn't bother with giving any attention towards Yoon's "insult", seeing it as something that frankly wasn't worth the effort of addressing a second time. He could only vaguely remember the moment that Kyung spoke of, being that he was three and a half years older than Yoon was. Yet he couldn't imagine that he had wanted anything to do with her even back then. After all, as Kyung had stated, even then he had matters of his own that needed to be tended to. "If I have such memory then I am grateful that it chooses to evade me rather than to allow me to remember an encounter with someone with such indiscipline," he said, setting his empty bowl of rice aside and moving on to take a drink from his cup.

~

Alright, here we go. Raven, still just as paranoid and looking around every now and again, led Mason and Sammy towards the door, having to dodge passed a few people during her first couple of steps.

The closer that the trio got to the door, the more the synthwave music from the inside became audible. A blue tint of light poured out onto the floor from their left, and if Mason or Sammy were to look in that direction upon entering the building they would see the blacked out, color speckled floor as well as the meandering led lights that lit the room. Large and bulky arcade machines could be seen without having to actually enter the room, one of them being an all black Street Fighter 2 machine who's yellow printed name was surrounded by a strip of red above and blue below that connected into a oval. Another was one of the standard yellow and black Pac-Man machines.

However, Raven didn't plan on taking them there just yet and instead pushed through the door that was to their immediate right that led them into a space akin to the inside of a fast food restaurant blended with the looks of a cafe. There were a decent number of people already there, enough for her to keep just in her field of vision just in case. She motioned Mason and Sammy to follow her up to the counter where luckily there were three cushioned wooden stools unoccupied and ready to be taken. "You guys aren't allergic to like, milk or anything are ya?" She asked.

Sammy looked around, a look of amazement washing over her. Mason, however, who had kept his emotions low on the way over, had completely gotten distracted at the sight of all the machines and the lights, finding the decor of the place to be his style. Sammy was just as impressed with the interior, giving a nod as she spoke up, "Not bad, Rave."
"Not bad?! This is awesome" Mason said in an excited tone of voice, having to speak a bit over the noises coming from the blaring arcade machines. But before he could indulge in the joys of rare import entertainment, they were taking toward a food court, Sammy finding the more relaxed and laid back atmosphere more her style as she gave a shake of her head to Raven's response, "Nah, just pecans. Anything else I'm down for."
"Yeah, Sammy can eat an entire buffet if she wanted to" Mason added, finally letting himself get into a far more relaxed mood after the stress and confusion of last night. It was short lived as it was replaced with Sammy lightly kicking him in the ankle, though with her boots, it left a lingering stinging pain that made him groan a bit, "Was that necessary?"
"Yes, very" Sammy replied with a grin before turning her attention back to the counter

"Who eats pecans anyways?" Raven snickered lightly. She found them to be pretty bland herself and considered them something that old people would eat as a snack. When she turned towards the counter she didn't bother grabbing a menu while stepping up onto one of the stools to sit and instead spun around in her seat to face her new friends. "There's this thing they have here called a Mocha Shake. It's pretty much like a frozen coffee flavored milkshake with caramel, walnuts and some chopped up fruit. Weird, yeah, but its hella good. You guys totally have to try it!"

"Oh, sure" Sammy said as she sat down at the seat right next to Raven, spinning around slightly to face her, letting herself relax on the oddly comfortable stool. Mason sat on the side next to the two, his arms resting on the table as he gave a nod, "I'm not much of a coffee drinker, more of an energy drink kind of guy, but if you recommend it, then I'll have some as well."
Sammy gave a nod and a grin to Raven as she added, "Sounds like you got your answer, Rave"

Yoon’s left eye twitched as she listened to what Abel had to say. Kyung-ha on the other hand took it as a joke and laughed whole-heatedly. She saw that Abel’s bowl of rice was empty, generously filling it half-way again to ensure he would be full by the time he finished eating.

“Me? Indiscipline?! How am I indisciplined, you don’t even know me!” Yoon exclaimed, munching on her chicken before swallowing. “Just because I don’t wear a stupid slenderman suit or have void expressions and eat with no reaction doesn’t mean I’m not disciplined!” She squeaked. “You think you’re all goody two shoes being mama’s boy with rEsPecT and dIsciPline. You may have fooled my mom but that STUPID height and invisible smile of yours isn’t fooling anyone else, YOU STONE-COLD TREE.” Yoon grumbled, sitting back on her with her knees pressed against her chest now as she continued eating.

Kyung-ha blinked. “Yoonie I know you still a little sad about what happened but Abel-pie is here to help you. Both of you are good children and you will be even greater once you’ve had your training and mastered—“

“How am I supposed to do that without Yasha?!” Yoon interrupted, clearly still not over about her friend’s disappearance and what she assumed death. “You don’t even seem to care, it’s like both of you guys are void of any emotion.”

"Void of emotion or more keen to reason?" Abel asked flatly. "You seem to have a rather hard time distinguishing the thick line between the two with outbursts of childish behavior and antics that I'd expect more from the younger one there. You're correct, I don't know you. However, you don't know me either, yet you believe to have information to refer to me as a "goody two shoes" or "mother's child". But all it takes is a simple observation and confirming with proof. If you're anywhere near relative to my own age then I could quite easily confirm that you're an adult in their twenties still packed away in the safety of your mother's home with as much responsibility as a child with nearly the mannerism of one." He took another sip from his drink. "And that's not including what I've heard of from the boy, which again, seems to all fall in place in terms of how you reek of immaturity and faulty judgement made on the basis of emotions you appear to have no leash on. Therefore you are indiscipline. And last but certainly not least, our attires are meant to reflect the discipline of the agency as well as the self-discipline of an individual. Your own only seems to reflect the amount of calories you're able to consume and incompetence in one area of life or another. Perhaps a few."

The man spoke as if he had been observing Yoon for quite some time, his words coming in a ruthlessly straightforward manner. And in fact he had, from the moment that he walked into her hospital room. It was like he was taking a scalpel to her existence, dissecting her being under a gaze of ice.

Abel stood from his chair calmly, gathering all of the dishware he had used into a neat stack on his end of the table. "If you'd excuse me Kyung, I'll be taking my leave. There is still work to be done."

~

"Awesome!" Raven said with some excitement in her now. She turned around to the counter, reaching over and smacking the bell. "Hey! Hey Dean!" She called out to someone. "Dean!"

"WHAAaaaat?" A annoyed voice answered in a drone. "I told you already got that gum from outta the–" Dressed in a blue shirt with the word Arcadia scribbled across the chest, black khakis and an apron, a boy around the age of 16 or 17, was coming through a door that looked like it led back to the kitchen. His messy brown hair was covered by a hairnet, his eyes a hazel nut brown. He had a little hair bristling his upper lip. "Yo, Raven!" A grin immediately came across his face, and he rushed from around the counter to give her a hug. "Dude, where the heck have you been? I haven't seen you in like, months!"

"I've uuh...been busy with some stuff," Raven answered, surprised that the kid was even happy to see her anyways. Not that she was complaining or anything. She hadn't been to the place since late October, so it was refreshing to say the least.

The teenager looked over at Sammy, and then up at Mason with eyes that immediate widened a little as he gawked. "Holy shit you're big dude."

"I know right?!" Raven said in agreement like she was just seeing Mason for the first time again. "That's Mason, and she's Sammy," She pointed from one to the other.

"Got it. What can I get for you guys?"

"We'll have three Mocha Shakes with pretty much everything. No pecans though–"

"Who even eats those?"

"Exactly–oh and the normal for me please."

"You mean with a Monster?"

"You know it."

"Okay I'll get to it. I'll tell mom and dad that you're here too, I'm pretty sure they will be psyched to know. Anything else?" The boy asked.

"Nah, I think we're good."

"Alright, be back in a bit," Dean said while hurrying off back through the door he had come from.

Yoon could feel her stomach twist and turn as Abel spoke. Her brows were deeply furrowed, and at one point she felt like she needed to unleash any magic she had. It was boiling in her, anger and hatred poking at her insides. And when she expected her mother to defend her, she was shocked at what came from her mouth.

“I very sorry, Abel-pie.” But she understood his reasoning to leave. And instead she nodded at him slowly with a sad smile.

Yoon scoffed, finally standing up and kicking her chair backwards. “You’re literally so disgusting.” She said in a deep growl, her eyes unknowingly flashing a soft golden before she excused herself and stomped her way back into her room, shutting her door rather harshly. This made Kyung-ha jolt slightly. She released a sigh and rubbed her temples in thought.

Abel simply watched when Yoon stood up from her chair and stomped to her room, and the only thing that he could see was a woman-child throwing a tantrum. His head turned towards Kyung only for him to see her jolt when the door had been slammed. This caused his brows to furrow. Was this truly the woman that he had come to know years before? "You have no need to apologize Kyung. When there are duties to be fulfilled its only natural that time is limited. I do thank you for the provided sustenance this afternoon."

While Abel was within the house, Yoon's magic, boiling as it was, would feel as if it were being snuffed down to the core in which sparked its existence inside of her. It was like a body dropped into a coffin, still there but under layers of a thick presence of an empty cold.

Yoon felt nauseous, but strangely nothing would come out even if she wanted to. She huddled against a wall, panting softly–her hoodie feeling heavier than it normally would now with her skin burning up against her will. Her hands clutched into fists, a sudden urge of just punching the air which she knew would lead to severe damage. The young woman breathed in and out, feeling more than just disoriented.

Meanwhile, Kyung-ha nodded slowly, rubbing more at her temples before cupping her hands with each other. She lifted her head and gave Abel a weary smile. "Thank you for coming, Abel-pie." The mother said sadly. "I have missed you dearly." She reminded him. Her eyes briefly glanced at Yoon's door before returning to Abel's eyes. "She will learn. After all, you did." She attempted of a small joke; however this time Kyung-ha didn't laugh. She twiddled with her thumbs, which she strangely only did so when she was at a loss. Her eyes were now on Sangeon, who continued eating without a clue of what was happening.

"Yeah, I get that a lot" Mason chuckled at the mention of his size, getting a bit bashful about it as he scratched his shoulder out of habit. Sammy leaned back as she let Raven talk, a bit surprised that the borderline anti social girl they had met just yesterday was having a full conversation with a clerk here. Once they had finished, Sammy couldn't help but chuckle before she leaned in slightly over the counter and spoke in a hushed tone, "Well aren't you full of surprises, Rave. Didn't think you were popular here. So he your boyfriend or something?". Sammy didn't give Raven much chance to answer before laughing, clearly just her teasing Raven. Mason rolled his eyes before he spoke to Raven, "Don't mind her. You get used to her teasing after a few years."

Abel's brows only furrowed further, and he watched Kyung's fingers twiddle indirectly while his eyes remained on her. "I learned, yes. But at the cost of much more than she will ever be willing to pay. And I don't believe that you as a mother would wish her to learn in the same manner as I. We must not forget that she is a sheltered individual. I was not. And so our resolve is worlds apart." He didn't believe that they were even comparable in terms of progressing at this point. With this in mind he walked to the door to put his shoes back on.

~

"Wait what–n-no he's a KID!" Raven exclaimed, only to be turn to Mason with red cheeks when he spoke, only to then turn right back to Sammy and still feel as if she needed to give some sort of explanation. "I'm not popular or anything I just, ya know, have been here a lot." And by a lot, she meant that there was a time that she was there almost everyday for five months straight. "He's sorta my gaming...buddy," she admitted, a embarrassed by the fact. Which really said a lot about the amount of real friends that she had to hangout with when she wasn't at work.

Sammy gave a chuckle at Raven's sudden bashfulness, shaking her head, "Hey, don't worry about it. Didn't think you'd freak out so much about that. I'm sorry."
"Hey, how come you never apologize when you make me freak out?" Mason said with a smirk on his face
Sammy rolled her eyes with her playful grin before answering, "You're a big guy. You'll learn to deal with it. Besides, Rave here is a sweet, innocent girl. And you're... less so."
"That's no fair" Mason said jokingly "I'm sweet and I'm innocent"
Sammy gave a shrug before she turned back to Raven with a nod, "Well, hey, I still think you have this cool aura about you, Raven. I'll try not to let my bad girl attitude ruin that for you" Sammy said with a grin, remembering her conversation with that DJ girl from last night, thinking back on what she said. Mason shook his head and responded, "Yeah, don't, Raven's too good and she doesn't need you being a bad influence"

As Kyung-ha's elbows rested on the table, she drooped her head some it so could lay on the pads of her thumbs in thought. She reflected on Abel's words, an expression of worry and concern on her face. "Thank you, Abel-pie." The mother managed to say for his advice, glancing his way as he was putting on his shoes. "Watch your 360, oke?" She reminded him with a small smile. "Come back soon."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the gas station down the block, the pink-haired lady undid her high ponytail, fluffing it out with her fingers and placing her beanie over it. She licked her lips and combed her eyebrows into place before exiting the staff restroom while humming a small tune to herself. Kore tossed the keys to the convenience store over to her co-worker as she was filling out some papers.

"Later dude!~" Kore wiggled her fingers while waving goodbye backwards while exiting the shop. Her co-worker rolled her eyes, mumbling under her breath about Kore's outfit choice before returning to her work, already greeting some customers. Kore had changed from her work uniform into some low-rise shorts, a long sleeve purple crop top paired with black stockings and pink converse. She grabbed an energy drink on her way out without paying, telling herself she'd get to that later. Once outside, she inhaled the scent of gasoline, scrunching her nose slightly while plugging in her earbuds, her thumb pressing at her phone to play a link. Kore hummed along as she made her way down the street.


(Out and about Kore)

Raven's fingers rubbed together nervously, only blushing further particularly at Sammy calling her "sweet" and "innocent", mostly because she knew that one of those two things weren't true depending on how it was defined. Luckily she was saved from the awkwardness when Dean came back through the door with a cupholder that matched the color of the orange colored walls, and she praised him silently.

"Three Mocha Shakes with caramel, almonds, chocolate shavings, coffee flavoring, a top-off of whipped cream and a all original Monster all delivered by your's truly," Dean announced with pride, settling the cupholder that held the four items down onto the counter. "That'll be $12.95."

"Gotcha," Raven said immediately, standing up to grab her wallet out of her back pocket. She handed Dean a twenty dollar bill. "You can keep the change as a tip."

"Ha, sweet," Dean grinned a bit, already having something in mind to spend it on. 'So you guys goin' to game?"

Raven–who had immediately started chugging her shake like it was water– only stopped to give a quick nod before answering, "Yeah, that's the plan."

"Cool. So you comin' by for karaoke tonight?"

Raven almost spit her drink out. "Uh...I might. Maybe just to...ya know...watch."

"What? Oh come on, the people from the last couple of Friday's have been garbag–"

"Dean," Raven hissed, almost giving him a death glare before her eyes gestured towards Sammy and Mason.

Dean looked at them with confusion until he finally got what she was trying to tell him. "Ooh–oooooh." But then he grinned. "Hey, at least you don't suck. AND, its not like I told them that–"

"Imma freakin kill you you brat!"

Dean ducked under the bundle of straws that were thrown at him, laughing. "Come on, you gotta get out of that shell!"

"Shut up, you're a kid. I should be telling you that!" Raven replied as Dean was walking back to the back. Her head fell into a limp, her forehead bopping lightly against the counter top. "Ugh, that little turd," She growled to herself, making a mental note to pour a bunch of salt into the next thing she would buy for him.

~

"The same to you," Abel replied, already retying the strings to the glossy shoes that he wore. After he was finished, he gave her small bow. "Good day to you. Enjoy the remainder of the day." He turned on his heels sharply, almost like a soldier, and opened the door. But he stopped for a moment, deciding to relay to Kyung some information. "I made a call to the current CMSO(Consultant in Magic and Supernatural Occurrences) last night while we were at the hospital and notified her of the magic involved in the events that had taken place. Preparations are being undergone to ensure that things remain under control while I await the decision on what is to be done with your daughter and the boy. An answer will be given within the next few days. I'll notify you of things when the orders are received."

Sammy gave a bit of a chuckle between the altercation, Mason shaking his head, the whole thing reminding him of his and Sammy's relationship. After which, Sammy couldn't help but ask, "You got a little stage fright, Rave? Well, if you ain't up for singing, we're more than capable of taking a few cracks at it."
"Well you are. You know I'm not real confident in my singing skills." Mason said, stirring his drink around casually. In fact, the thought of getting up and singing scared him. Sammy could only laugh, having to make sure to swallow her drink as to not choke on it before responding, "Says the guy who can play guitar. Then again, they don't really got any songs about your feelings."
"Those people are hacks and I do not tolerate their involvement in the art of music" Mason said quickly as he took a drink from his glass, not adding anymore to the response given

Leo sat a ways down from the gas station, having waited for Kore with some hopes of getting info that he needed. He made sure to delete the photo off his phone in case it would lead to future troubles. He sat in his black car, keeping the engine on as it would be a pain to get started again so he decided to just sit there for the past twenty minutes, listening to his mix tape of songs he mashed together in his youth, the worn marker on it barely reading out to be "Relaxation Time", the cassette consisting of jazz songs from even before he was born. He let himself get taken by the music, resting his head back onto the seat. It didn't take long for him to eventually doze off and fall asleep on his seat, lightly snoring, completely forgetting that he had to keep an eye out for Kore

Psh, stage fright? Me? Naaah. Raven almost scoffed at this, mostly because it was true. Without her costume and her mask and the voice changer that she pair along with it, she doubted heavily that she would be able to do what she did as Roux. There was just something about having so many people stare at her face. Fame was not something that interested her in the slightest–in fact, it terrified her. Not only that, she felt that people were more connected to the mask and music than herself anyways, so who was she to strip that away from them?
And then she thought about what Sammy had actually said. "Wait...by "taking a crack at it" you mean you guys are gonna be here? As in, tonight?"