Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Daniel Park used to believe he was taking down the Four Crews for justice.

But, really, what was justice? 

He was no hero, not like Vasco. 

He wasn’t after some grand revenge, like Jake Kim. 

He wasn’t even doing it to protect his loved ones, like Eli Jang.

No, at some point along the road he started to love the thrill of the fight. The adrenaline. The feeling of being powerful enough that people would be afraid to stand in his way.

After all, didn’t Vasco say the truth? A true hero wouldn’t let their friend fight. If he really wanted to protect them, he should’ve been strong enough that they never would even have to lift a finger.

And Jay. He hated fighting. He decided to throw away his comfortable life to help Allied, only to… only for that damned second body of his to take him down without Jay even being able to lift a finger.

And what about all those people who had their lives taken or ruined because he decided to get involved? Olly Wang, Jichang Kwak, Bakgu Noh… Jiho. 

Wasn’t the whole point of becoming strong to make others stop bullying the weak? When had he gotten so mixed up in crews that he forgot how he vowed to be less self-centered in order to never make his mother cry again.

Ah… 

“Mom,” he coughed out. Blood curdled on his lip. “Tell my mom… ”

A shadow fell over his face. Dark hair, wet from the rain, framed a blurry face. But Daniel didn’t need to see to know who it was.

“What was it that Gun used to say? He only granted wishes to dead people?” 

Daniel coughed again. His fingers twitched, broken beyond repair. Not that he would even have the chance to try and repair them.

“What should I take from you, I wonder? An eye? Well, I guess I’ll get to decide in a moment.”

“Tell my mom… ” He had to finish the sentence. But what right did he have to say one last thing to his mother? The woman who bore him, who put up with his pathetic behavior, who worked her ass off just to provide for him, who never accepted the money he gave her… 

“Thank you, Daniel Park. It really was the best fight of my life.” 

What could he say to his mother, who already became a widow at such a young age? Who would now, truly, be alone. 

“Tell my mom… ” A tear escaped from his eye, mixing with the rain and blood. “Please. Tell her that… that her pathetic son is sorry.” He couldn’t even muster up the strength to see whether the man above him agreed. 

And with that, Daniel Park died. 

The first few weeks of switching bodies were disorienting. Even knowing he was going to switch, being awake for essentially twenty-fours hour every single day took some getting used to. Even later on Daniel sometimes struggled to perfectly switch over. And once his original body had become just as experienced as his second one, it became harder and harder to differentiate between the two.

This was nothing like switching bodies.

It was a bit like violently awakening from a cold, sweaty nightmare, where even when you knew your eyes were open you still couldn’t see anything. 

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Daniel grasped at the air, chest heaving. He looked around at a dark and blurry room, with only a red light illuminating its interior.

Even though he knew even a second of hesitation could cost him his life, it was as though his body was on fire and unwilling to listen to its brain. 

He coughed wetly, scrunching his tank top against the left side of his chest chest. 

“Daniel?”

That voice.

He turned to his right, where a warm light suddenly appeared in the gap between a shabby door and a dirty floor. A shadow obstructed part of the light.

“Are you okay, sweetie? Did you have a nightmare?”

“Don’t — ” he coughed again, “Don’t come in, Mom!” The oxygen in his lungs felt like liquid lava, but he couldn’t allow his mother to see him like this. 

“Daniel? You don’t have to be embarrassed. I can — ”

“I’m, I’m fine, Mom. Really,” he said. 

“Alright, dear. Just… know you can come to me if you need anything.” After a moment, the shadow left, and the lights switched back off. 

Daniel licked his lips, the coughing finally subsiding. He looked around at the room he was in, with its dilapidated walls, embarrassing posters, and heaps of trash, squinting his eyes at the familiar sight.

Wait. Squinting?

Daniel rubbed his eyes, but his vision didn’t get any clearer. He leaped onto his feet, twisting around in search of glasses that he hadn’t worn in years. His hands came out to feel around, only to fall inches short from the ground, as though he had lost inches off of his arm’s length. 

Daniel brought his hands closer to his face. They were thick, chubby, and soft. The hands of someone who had never thrown a real punch in their lives. 

He looked down at his body. He couldn’t see his toes. 

Finally, he reached up to grab at the chain hanging from the ceiling. The lightbulb flickered on. He turned to his left, where he knew a full-length mirror resided. 

Daniel was back in his true original body. 

-

Traveling back in time might’ve been stranger if not for the fact that Daniel was used to having two bodies. 

Apparently, he was in the summer before his first-year of high school. It seems he hadn’t remembered to turn his alarm clock off and so it woke him up in time for classes he (luckily) didn’t have to attend. 

The first few days were strange, to say the least. While switching between the two bodies was never difficult, it had been years since he had to deal with a body that wasn’t in perfect condition. He kept reaching for things that were further away than he could grab or tripping over feet that refused to cooperate. When he went to bed that first night, he almost expected to wake up in his second body.

But living back at home with his mother was an unparalleled experience. After his “nightmare,” she had made sure to ply him with some homemade food that he knew they couldn’t afford at the moment. His strange behavior these last few days certainly hadn’t helped. She seemed tempted to stay back at home to take care of him, but Daniel managed to shoo her off to work. At night, they ate together at the table, talking amicably in a way that they hadn’t been able to when he was actually that age. 

God. He must have been so horrible, for his own mother to be so astounded that he wanted to spend dinner together. 

After a week of acclimating back to his old life, Daniel was ready to throw it all away. The Four Crews, Charles Choi, the pre- and first-generations, James Lee… The only thing tying him to them in this life was his uncle, Jinyoung Park, but seeing as the man was crazy it would’ve been all but impossible to trace them together. 

Was it selfish of him to hide away in his mother’s home, eating her food and happily going about his life? 

“What are you talking about, Daniel? Hiding away? What are you hiding from?” his mother asked, setting her chopsticks down. Her face was scrunched up in concern. 

“I mean… ” Daniel pushed a noodle around his plate. “Theoretically, Mom. If I knew that there were bad things happening and that I could help stop them but in the process, I’d put myself and people who otherwise wouldn’t be involved in danger, would it be… selfish? To not do anything?”

His mother frowned. “Is someone bullying you?” Daniel’s mouth flew open.

“No!” Well, actually, yes, I guess. “I just mean… ” He shoved a noodle into his mouth, chewing. His mother observed him, as though searching for the truthfulness.

“Well. I didn’t raise you to look the other way when bad things happened, did I?” She picked her chopsticks back up, taking a small bite. “Your father was just like that. Always going off and getting into trouble. But…  I always knew it was for good reason. It’s why I never objected, even if I wanted to. How could I, when he was making the world a better place?”

Daniel’s eyes widened. His father had always been an unspoken off-limits topic between them. Even at Daniel’s worst, he had never brought up his father. The closest they had ever gotten in his last life was when he was investigating his relation to Jinyoung Park. 

They kept eating in silence. His mother seemed to sense that he was honestly searching for something. 

As they finished watching the dishes, something that Daniel hadn’t helped with before, he turned to his mother.

“Mom. I lied before. I am being bullied,” he said. 

His mother paused before smiling sadly. As expected, she had already known. 

“Oh, Daniel,” she said. “I — ”

“I’m going to start a part-time job to save up to transfer to another school,” he said. “I know… I know I haven’t been a good son, until now.”

“Daniel, no, it’s all your mother’s — ”

“No, Mom. You’re… ” Daniel bit his lip, tears threatening to spill out. 

Had he ever said this to his mother? Or had he only kept it in his heart, too embarrassed to say it? 

“You’re the best mother in the world. It’s your pathetic son who can’t do anything right.”

“Oh, Daniel,” Her arms came up to wrap around him, clutching him like her life depended on it. “Don’t cry, Daniel.”

“I — ” I won’t, he was going to say, but his words got choked up. Tears fell down onto his mother’s shoulder. “I love you, Mom. So much. And — and I didn’t say it enough.”

His mother’s hand came up to pet Daniel’s hair, her other hand rubbing circles into his back. “Sh. It’s okay. You’re saying it now, aren’t you? I love you too.”

How did you react, when you found out your only son had died? What was the cover-up story that they used? Did you know the truth? You always knew me better than I gave you credit for.

Daniel sobbed into his mother’s arms for what felt like hours. At some point he was just clutching at her, chest heaving, his eyes too tired to produce any more tears. But not even once did his mother let go. 

At first, Daniel was going to follow the same path he did before, but instead of relying on his mother for expenses he would begin working right away to ease at least a little bit of his burdens. in an old unused notebook he started to write out all he could remember of the events leading up to his death. 

1. Travel to Seoul to attend Jaewon High and gain second body 
2. Remeet all my friends, solve all the problems that arise (Help out Duke before things get bad.) (Save Jiho)
3. Prevent Johan from disappearing
4. Save Olly Wang

The only problem was, as he went further and further down the timeline he had problems remembering everything he had done. Even worse than that, if he went and changed things (like Olly’s death), then what would happen after that point? Or if he didn’t try and change things, then wouldn’t he just be wilfully letting people suffer?

So many of the events that unfolded in his past happened due to outside influence. Looking back on it, he didn’t even know the reason why half of the people who appeared showed up when they did. Who knows, maybe him not getting a haircut that first day in Seoul would result in the whole timeline shifting.

While Daniel certainly wasn’t dumb, he wasn’t some strategic planner like Jace or Eugene. No, his power had always been in his fists. Or, for those first couple of years, his second body’s fists.

And so, Daniel began to train. 

So much could be prevented if he had just started training his original body in the first place. All that time his second body spent incapacitated was wasted on Daniel trying to improve his original body. And so, if he just began with a perfect original body, he could spend 24/7 working towards his goals. 

So, for the five remaining weeks of summer vacation, in between his part-time job as a deliveryman, Daniel trained every day. He started with Vasco’s workout routine, to reacclimate his body to the strenuous conditions it would soon undergo. After two weeks of that, he moved on to Sophia’s training regime, supplementing her weight with that of a few boulders. And with just one week remaining, he started to train his body’s ultra-instinct. After all, there was only so much non-combat-oriented training he could do. 

While his mind may remember all the forms he’d seen in the past, it was likely that the same thing that happened the last time he tried to replicate in his original body would occur. This body simply lacked true combat experience. 

And so, his mother helped him move into the same old shack he lived in for years. He bid her a much more tearful goodbye than last time, promising to call every day. 

He considered going out and walking about Seoul. Hadn’t he met Zack and Mira for the first time, just a few hours after his move? In this new and improved body it was unlikely that their first meeting would be so disastrous. And besides, Daniel wasn’t sure he’d find it in himself to be anything other than extreme sadness to see the two of them. Were they even dating at this point? 

Instead, Daniel decided to go out and find the same part-time convenience store job he had last cycle. It certainly would be helpful to have some extra pocket change, and he might even become an online model just for the high commission rate. 

He ended up getting hired right on the spot, with his manager a lot more wary of him this time around.

“You’re not just pulling this old man’s leg are you, young man? You’ll show up to your shifts and not slack off, right?”

“Of course, Sir. I wouldn’t dare!”

“Right. Just checking. Kids these days, looking all different… Well, it’s none of my business, I guess.”

 With that taken care of, he went out to walk along the riverside as the sun began to set. He could feel his eyes getting droopy. That was another new thing: he hadn’t felt true exhaustion, other than post-battle fatigue, in years. 

Laying down onto his bed, with the promise of what was to come, he went off into a peaceful sleep. He woke up that morning, refreshed. Standing up, he turned to his full-length mirror.

He paused. His face stared back at him. He looked down. He was still in his original body. 

“Fuck.”

After countless attempts to summon his second body, it seemed like it simply wasn’t going to happen. Whether he passed out from exhaustion, from sleeping pills, or with a wish on his tongue, he still woke up in the same body.

Before Daniel knew it, it was already the beginning of the new school year, and for the second time he’d be attending J-High as a student, only in his original body. 

“Woah… Who’s that hottie?”

“Was there someone like that who went to our middle school?”

“A ten out of ten, for real!”

“Should I go and get those digits?”

Daniel made his way through the crowd of new students. Around the school were various informational signs for the incoming freshman to find their classrooms, but he paid no mind to them. He knew exactly where he was going. 

It had been years since he stepped foot into J-High’s fashion department. By his senior year, he was almost expelled from school due to absences, and even then he had to make up some excuse about a terminally ill relative he was looking after. By the time he graduated he was more concerned with crews than school. 

Daniel stopped just a few feet before his classroom. Inside he could hear the classmates he hadn’t seen in forever joking around. 

He took a deep breath, steeling himself. He couldn’t go and start bawling in front of his not-quite-yet-friends. 

It had been right inside that classroom that his new life started. And it would be that way once again.

He reached out a hand to open the door, but a thick arm came out to grasp the handle before he could. 

“Uh.”

He followed the hand upward, finally meeting the eyes of… 

Well. Daniel couldn’t quite remember his name, but he was about 75% sure that they were in class together.

“Hey,” the other boy said. “Let me get that for you.” He coughed, and his cheeks were flushed red for some reason. 

Did he have a cold or something? Well, I won’t object to him opening the door for me, I guess.

“Thanks,” Daniel said. The other boy coughed again, grinning widely. He opened the door to their classroom.

“Sure thing. F-feel free to ask me to open any other doors you may need.” 

“Right… ” For some reason, Daniel felt like he wasn’t understanding what the other was saying. Nonetheless, he stepped into the room.

He looked out at the other students, all of whom turned to stare at his entrance. Time seemed to still for the other students as Daniel made his way to the same seat he sat at for his three years at J-High, right next to Zack.

(Even five years after gaining his new body, Daniel could never quite pick up on when people were checking him out.)

He sat down in his seat, his legs just barely touching the ground. His body hadn’t quite undergone the growth spurt it did under Gun’s teaching yet. As of right now, he was around 5’3”, although he hoped that he would grow a little bit more in the next year. It was inconvenient being so short again. 

He started to idly play on his phone, his legs thumping up and down in anticipation of meeting his old (new?) friends again. He had been practicing in the mirror for weeks to school his face into some semblance of vague interest rather than the mixture of despair and elation that he was truly feeling. 

I should approach them naturally. They would be freaked out if some random classmate came up to them and started to go on and on about wanting to be friends, right?

Aside from that, I should try and connect with… with Jiho. But I shouldn’t get too close. It was my fault he got so caught up in everything, after all. 

I won’t let it happen again, Jiho. I promised I would try and understand.

Lost in thought, he only looked up from his phone when a shadow fell over his screen. Feeling deja vu from the doorway, he looked up, coming face-to-face with… yet another boy who looked familiar but Daniel couldn’t for the life of him remember the name of.

“Hey,” the boy said. “You’re new to our school, right? I didn’t see you around during middle school.”

“That’s right,” Daniel said. 

“Cool, cool,” he said. “Well, I just wanted to say that I wouldn’t mind showing a cutie like you around our school.”

?

“Sorry?” he asked. The other boy scratched the back of his head, face quickly turning crimson.

“I’m sort-of, kind-of a big deal around here, so you wouldn’t have to worry about anyone messing with you,” he continued. “You can just sit back and let your oppa do all the work.”

Oppa?

Daniel felt a chill go down his back. There was definitely some kind of misunderstanding happening right now. 

“Look, I think you have the wrong idea — ”

“Awe, no need to be shy. Look, why don’t we go and check out my own private little — ” A strong hand landed on his shoulder, cutting him off. The flirtatious boy stiffened.

“She’s not interested, asshole, so go swing your dick somewhere else.” The boy in front of Daniel looked between him and the newcomer.

Daniel’s eyes widened. 

Behind the boy stood Zack Lee in all his freshman-year glory. The flirtatious boy quickly eked out and apology and fled. Zack huffed in distaste, wiping off his hand on his trousers before settling down into the seat beside Daniel. Zack propped his head up on his left hand, face turning to his right. 

“Hey, if that idiot bothers you feel free to talk to me,” he said. 

Huh… Daniel thought. He’s being a lot nicer than I remember.

He followed where Zack’s eyes were trailing and, sure enough, Mira Kim was sitting in her seat, talking to some of their classmates. If Daniel squinted he could almost see a tail wagging behind Zack, like a dog awaiting praise. 

You never change, Zack.  

Daniel hid a small smile behind his hand. 

Maybe this won’t be as hard as I thought. But it seems like Zack and that other boy had the wrong idea about my gender. 

Eh, I’m sure they’ll realize soon enough. I’m wearing pants, after all.

Satisfied, Daniel went back to scrolling on his phone, but he snuck quite a few glances at Zack’s figure beside him. He had to bite his lip quite a few times to stop himself from giggling. It had been awhile since he’d seen how openly infatuated Zack was with Mira, after all. 

Sitting a few seats in front of Daniel, with his eyes obscured by bleached blond bangs and head propped up on a Chrome Hearts-covered hand, Jay Hong frowned.

Chapter Text

“I just love your fashion style, Dani!”

“It’s so chic. You could totally be a model.”

“Do you wanna go shopping with us later?”

“Hey, this is our fashion department senior, she has a ton of discounts from her modeling jobs!”

“Zoe told me about how you helped her with her schoolwork, so feel free to just call me ‘unnie.’”

“Ha, thanks… ”

So, it seemed like the miscommunication from the first day of classes did not, in fact, get figured out. He had been fully mistaken for a girl. 

“By the way, we were just talking about how much we love your cute hairstyle! It’s like, overgrown chic. In a good way!”

“Ugh, I wish I had your hair, Dani! It’s so soft and silky, but not greasy at all.”

“What kind of products do you use?”

“Oh, I just use two-in-one shampoo and conditioner.”

“WHAT?”

Everybody seemed convinced that Daniel was a girl, even the teachers! 

That first day, Daniel thought his homeroom teacher would correct the class’s use of female pronouns for him, but for some reason, he hadn’t. During break, he had been pulled aside to talk, but the conversation ended up going a lot differently than Daniel anticipated.

“Ahem. Miss Park, I just wanted to confirm that the name on record is… ”

“It’s correct, Mr. Yoon.”

“Ah, I thought so… Is there anything else you like to be called?”

Daniel furrowed his brows. “Um… I guess my mom calls me Danny, sometimes?”

“Dani, okay… And what about your uniform?”

“Um… ” Daniel didn’t really get what he was trying to say. “It’s the one I was told to use?”

“Right, right… ” Mr. Yoon coughed. “I just want to let you know that I don’t care at all about that stuff. You seem like you’ll be a great student, and I’ll do my best to make sure the other teachers know, as well. If they give you any trouble, come to me, okay?”

“Thank you?”

“It’s no problem. You’re just like any other student of mine,” Mr. Yoon replied. They sat in silence for a second.

I really, really feel like we’re talking about different things here, Mr. Yoon.

The teacher checked his wristwatch. “Right, it’s almost time for class to start again.” 

Daniel moved to walk back to class, but Mr. Yoon stopped her one last time. “And if you feel more comfortable in a different uniform, I’ll be sure to have the school send one over.”

“Oh,” he said. “No, that’s okay. I don’t think it would be very appropriate.” 

With that, Daniel walked away. 

Left alone in the teacher’s lounge, a single tear escaped Mr. Yoon’s eye. 

(Unknown to Daniel, Mr. Yoon would spend the rest of his day researching all he could about supporting transgender youth in South Korea. A few years later, he would go on to become an avid advocate for trans rights in the country, helping to pass some of the world’s best trans healthcare protection bills.)

Well, at least Mr. Yoon seemed to be supportive. He even offered the teacher’s private bathrooms to Daniel, making up an excuse that he had a rare immunodeficiency that made using public bathrooms all but impossible to use. And for some reason, all of his school records had been altered to refer to Daniel as “Dani” in the system.

And so, that’s how Daniel found himself on a shopping trip with the other girls from the fashion department, both in his year and above. 

In middle school, he had often gone on “shopping trips” which, in reality, were just excuses for his bullies to pile on as much weight as he could hold and then punish him when he inevitably dropped them. 

This was nothing like that.

“Zoe, you should try this on! You’d look great in it.”

“Wait, this totally looks like your style, Mira!”

“Dani, what kind of clothes do you like? You’ve got such a cool tomboy look but I think you’d look super cute in a coquette style.”

Daniel was sure he’d never tried on so many clothes before. Even when Jay gifted him his leftover clothing he really only used the catalogue he created. But this? This was just a constant stream of his classmates handing him new clothes to try on. 

After about three grueling hours of trying on clothes from various shops, they finally found their way to the food court. 

“Hey, I’ll go grab us a seat,” Daniel said. 

“I’ll come with you, Dani,” Mira said. Together, the two of them found a nice little table in the corner, far away from the louder parts of the food court. They sat down across from each other. 

Crickets.

If I think about it… I guess I’ve never really had a one-on-one conversation with Mira about anything other than Zack, huh?

“What are you going to get, Mira?” he asked. “I was kind of feeling like pizza.”

“Pizza sounds great,” she replied. “But… ”

“Hm?”

“Well, just so you know, while I love our classmates… They’ll probably convince you to get a salad.”

Daniel tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you know, most of them diet to keep their figure, so they might make you feel bad about getting something like pizza.”

“That’s silly,” he said. 

“I know. The first time we went out I suggested getting ice cream, and before I knew it they had signed me up for a calorie counting app.”

“Really?”

“Yes! Isn’t that crazy? And then they tried to convince me that eating shaved ice was basically the same thing, only with way less calories.”

“It’s not at all the same thing.”

“That's what I said!”

True to Mira’s words, the other girls tried to convince Daniel to get something healthier, but he stood his ground. 

“I may eat healthy 99% of the time to keep this body up… But a treat every now and then won’t ruin it.”

The other girls seemed dissatisfied with his answer, but he and Mira were free to eat their pizza, with Zoe looking longingly at them while munching on her Caesar salad. 

Of course, Daniel hadn’t neglected his training. But he was quickly reaching the point where pure physical training wasn't cutting it. He needed a sparring partner. 

“Dani!”

Wiping off the sweat from his brow, Daniel raised a hand to wave at the two approaching figures. 

“Hi Jace, Vasco.” 

Wow, did they really used to look that young? 

“Are you done with your run?” Jace asked. He was still flush from his run, and averted his eyes when Daniel lifted the bottom of his tank top to wipe at the rest of his sweat.

“Yeah, I was just warming up,” he said, dropping the edge of his shirt back down. “What about you two?”

Vasco puffed out his chest. “We’ve just completed our 10 kilometre run.”

“Right, you do that and 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, and 100 squats.” Vasco nodded his head at Daniel. 

“Exactly! Do you want to join?”

“Oh, I’d — ”

“Ha!” Jace said, bringing a hand up to cover Vasco’s mouth. “He’s joking, obviously. You should go back to your cardio, Dani.”

“Oh, no, I really would — ” 

Jace coughed, letting go of Vasco to whisper in Daniel’s ear. “You don’t have to go along just because he looks a little scary.”

“No, I actually want to — ”

“Well, we’ll be seeing you, Dani!”

With that, the Burn Knuckles members went over to a corner of the playground to start working out.

Well, time to try somewhere else.

“Join our gym? Well, we have a girl’s night on Wednesdays for self-defense.”

“No, I’d like to spar.” 

“I’m sorry, but I’m not sure I feel comfortable letting such a young girl get beat up like that… They’d have to go easy on you, and I’d be worried about you getting hurt more than necessary.”

“Right.”

Somewhere else.

“A girl? This isn’t a clothing store.”

“I know. You train people, right? I want to — ”

“Ugh, nobody likes muscular women, you know? Now shoo, I don’t want people thinking we’re harming girls over here.”

Somewhere else.

“Judo club? Sorry, we don’t have a women’s team.”

“Karate classes? We have a few beginner-level classes, but all of the higher belts are men.”

“Taekwondo? Ah, but such a pretty girl like yourself doesn’t need to worry about fighting. You should get your boyfriend to escort you! Hey, are you single?”

“If you want to lose weight, I’d recommend you do something else, like yoga! I heard pilates is also pretty popular with girls these days.”

“Sorry, but it’s a bit of a liability to have a woman in our dojo. You understand, don’t you?”

Somewhere else.

“I heard you’re trying to find a place to fight,” Mira said, pushing her desk against Daniel and Zack’s.

“Huh?” Zack said, looking up from his phone. “Wait, Mira, I swear I promised to stop ‘cause you hated it — ”

“Not you, Zack,” she said. “Dani!” 

Zack turned to Daniel, eyebrows raised. “You’re trying to learn how to fight?”

“No,” Daniel said. He was starting to feel a little miffed at everyone’s reactions. “I already know how. I just need someone to spar with.”

“You know how to fight, Dani?” Zoe slid her desk next to Mira’s. Zack glared at her but, under the watchful eyes of Mira, didn’t say anything. “So cool!”

“Thanks, Zoe,” he said. 

“Yeah, right,” Zack said. Mira slapped his arm. “Ouch, Mira! I’m just saying, you don’t really seem like the fighting type.”

“What do you mean?” Daniel asked. 

“You seem like if you saw a speck of blood you’d faint,” Zack said. 

“Well, if Dani says she can fight, then she can fight,” Zoe said. For some reason, Zoe had gotten very attached to “Dani” in the last few weeks. “I bet she’s even better than you, Zack!”

“Sure,” Zack said, laughing. 

Daniel had never really been underestimated. In fact, he almost felt like he had been overestimated by the people around him, even those he had never been able to beat, like Eli. When he was growing up, people never expected much of him, and he never did anything to prove them wrong, either.

But this?

This hurt, for some reason. 

Daniel scoffed, sliding down in His chair. He pulled his phone out. 

Across from her, both Zoe and Mira were glaring at Zack. Mira tugged on his sleeve, whispering in his ear, “Zack, apologize!”

“What! Why?”

“Dani’s obviously offended,” Zoe said, leaning in. “And so am I!”

They looked at Daniel, who seemed to be pouting just slightly, puffing out his cheeks.

“Ugh,” Zack said. He stole a small peek at Mira. So close to me! “Fine, I’ll apologize.”

“Good,” Mira said, releasing his sleeve.

Zack cleared his throat, leaning back in his chair. “Look, Dani, I’m sorry I doubted that you could fight. I bet you’re actually a really good fighter, but just haven’t gotten the chance to show off yet.”

Despite his words, his tone was all wrong. It truly came off as mocking.

“Zack!” Zoe said, standing up. “Ugh, boys. Don’t listen to him, Dani.”

“Hm?” Daniel said, looking up. “Sorry, I was busy booking a gym room. What did Zack say?”

Zoe sat back down. “Nothing,” she said, “worth listening to.”

Daniel tilted his head, but shrugged. “Do you guys want to head to the cafeteria now?”

The three others nodded, picking up their stuff to leave. As they reached the doorway, Daniel realized he had forgotten his bag.

“Sorry, I’ll be right behind you.”  

He moved back to his desk, but his eye caught on Jay, who was still staring out the window, the midday light shining down on his hair. Daniel swallowed. 

It wasn’t that he was avoiding Jay, per se. He really wasn’t! It’s just… 

Well. It was a bit awkward to talk to the person who you know fell in love with you at first sight but they don’t know that you know. 

Oh, and Daniel didn’t even have a chance to tell Jay that he knew about his feelings before he died.

Although…  

Daniel frowned, grabbing his bag. 

Didn’t Jay fall in love with my second body at first sight?

According to his butler, Jay had fallen in love with Daniel on the very first day they met, like a red string of fate. 

“He was content with even just being in the corner of your eye,” Jay’s butler said. “At least, that’s what I managed to understand.”

Jay… 

Daniel took a deep breath, turning to face Jay. He marched over to the other boy’s desk, who looked up in surprise.

“Hi, I’m Danie… Dani Park,” he said. “You’re Jay Hong, right? Do you… want to have lunch with us?”

Jay looked away from Daniel. 

“Oh, you already ate?”

Jay turned his head back. 

“Huh? What do you mean, how did I understand you? You’re just talking to me.”

Jay’s mouth fell open. 

“Well, if you already ate, I guess it can’t be — Oh, it was just a snack? Well, alright. I told them I wouldn’t be long, so we should probably hurry up if we want to catch up.”

Hanging out with Jay was just as fun as Daniel remembered. 

Sure, Zack, Mira, and Zoe were all great, but… Jay had been his very first friend. The person he turned to when times got rough, not for a solution, but just to talk. 

“You overheard us talking about me trying to find a sparring partner?” Daniel asked, dumping the last of the trash into the bin. The two of them had volunteered for clean-up duty. “You know somebody who would be willing to help out?”

Jay nodded.

“I can’t pay them that much though… Oh, they’re an old family friend who owes you a favor? And they’re trying to get back into personal training, but are a little rusty, so I’d actually be doing them a favor? Really?”

Jay held open the door for Daniel as they left the classroom. 

“You’re a lifesaver, Jay! I’ve been looking everywhere for someone to take me on. When and where should I meet them? Oh, they should be able to meet up tonight? Wow!”

Jay wrote the address down on a scrap of paper, then waved goodbye to Daniel as he climbed onto his motorcycle. 

Daniel looked down at the paper.

“Huh, this address feels familiar… ”

Daniel entered it into his GPS, and set off on a run. 

Soon enough, he had arrived at the location. He looked up at the building in front of him. 

“I knew it… ”

“Hey, are you lost or something?” 

That voice was so familiar. 

“You’re Sophia Alexander, right? I was sent by Jay Hong.”

“Jay?” Sophia asked. She crossed her arms, looking Daniel up and down. “That boy sent you here? Why?”

“We’re friends,” Daniel said. “And he knew I wanted a sparring partner.”

“A sparring partner?” she said. She grinned, but it was all teeth. “That’s some confidence you have, girl.” Sophia walked past Daniel, opening the doors. “Well, come on in, then. I’m sure the detective would love to hear about this. Especially the bit about Jay sending you.”

Daniel walked into the building, instinctively sitting down in the chair he always sat in.

“The detective?” he asked, playing dumb. “Is he another friend of Jay’s?”

“Something like that,” Sophia said. “But while we wait for him, why don’t I test out those skills of yours?”

“Right,” Daniel said. He stood up, only to duck back down as Sophia’s foot passed over his head. He jumped back as she brought her other leg out to kick him, adding a few feet of distance between them.

“Good reflexes,” she said. “How about your defense?”

She moved towards Daniel, her punches quick as lightning. Daniel grunted in pain as he barely stepped to the side, redirecting her punches away. 

She’s as quick as I remember.

A leg came out to trip Daniel, but he backflipped, landing on Sophia’s shoulders. He grappled her neck with his legs, using the momentum to swing them both towards the ground.

Except a muscled hand gripped onto his ankle, throwing him off. He just barely managed to land on his feet, hitting the edge of a table. He panted, quickly moving into a defensive stance.

Sophia struck forward again. Daniel saw the move coming, preparing to twist away, but his body simply couldn’t react fast enough. She managed to nick his cheek, causing a bruise to immediately form. 

“Alright, that’s enough,” she said, sitting down on a nearby chair. She gestured for Daniel to do the same. “ You’ve got a solid defense, although your offense could use work.” The test was over. 

“Thank you,” Daniel said, also sitting. 

“You attack like you’re as tall as me,” she said, pouring the two of them some tea. “Or like you weigh more than ninety pounds sopping wet.”

“Huh?” 

“Were you trained by men?” she asked. 

“Um, yes,” he said. 

“I can tell. Your form and battle sense is solid, but you’re reaching for something that your body can’t perform yet.”

“Then can you help me get my body there?”

Sophia stared into her cup. “I’m not sure.”

“How come?”

“Your body… How long have you been working out?”

“At this point? A few months, now.”

“A few months!” Sophia exclaimed. “No wonder… ”

“No wonder what?”

“Your body is fatigued,” she said. “It’s been pushed to its limit.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” he asked.

“Well, yes,” she said. “But you’re not giving it enough time to rest. You’re acting like your aches will just magically go away the next day.”

Well, that’s what always happened in my second body.

“So I just need to rest?”

“And you need a sparring partner,” she said.

“Can you be my sparring partner?”

“No,” Sophia said. Daniel opened his mouth to reply, but she cut him off. “You already know how to defeat a stronger opponent, like me. Your body just needs to catch up to your brain. For now… you should try sparring with someone smaller than me.”

“Okay, I need to find a sparring partner that’s closer to my height.”

“And you need to rest. With how hard you’ve been pushing your body, I wouldn’t be surprised if you accidentally stunted your growth.”

Daniel stood up. “That’s possible?”

“Of course. That’s what happens when you don’t — ”

PING!

Both Daniel and Sophia looked at her pocket, where her phone had just lit up with a text. 

“Sorry, let me check this.” Sophia opened up her phone, squinting her eyes. She moved it closer to her face, then away. “Ugh, I can barely read these things.” 

Daniel waited patiently.

Finally, she seemed to have read the text. “Sorry, kid, but it looks like the detective is a bit too busy to meet right now. But he does want to meet you soon, especially if Jay introduces you two.”

“Wow, I didn’t know Jay and the detective were that close,” he said. Did Jay ever mention knowing him in my last life?

“Anyway, remember what I told you. You shouldn’t be pushing yourself so hard, or else you might accidentally stunt your growth. And I’ll try to find a sparring partner you can safely practice with.”

With that, Daniel left the detective agency. 

For now, Daniel decided to focus on how to stop things from happening. He wasn’t quite sure what the best way to go about it was — seeing as he honestly didn’t understand the timeline of events he wasn’t directly involved in — but he did, at least, know that he needed to keep his friends as far from the fighting as possible.

Right now, Big Deal is still running the lottery scam, Hostel A is exploiting their underage members, and every single Workers Affiliate is running smoothly. 

Then, should I start by taking down the lottery scam? But that would mean Jake Kim would go to jail again… He did kind of deserve that, though. 

How about Hostel A? I could disguise myself as a runaway and infiltrate them… But without Eli’s help, who knows what would happen. And if I could, I want to keep Eli from feeling like he had to rejoin Hostel just to protect them. 

I definitely can’t take on Workers yet. Perhaps the Fourth Affiliate, but that would mean alerting Eugene to my presence. Who knows what would happen there, especially since I don’t have my second body anymore. If I get locked up by Jinyoung Park again… 

Daniel shuddered, slowing his run to a stop. 

He sat down on a nearby bench, his sweat rapidly cooling down his bench. He looked out at the river, just as murky and trash-ridden as he remembered. He started to pat his body down with a towel he brought from home, when a sad whine caused him to turn around.

“Ugh, talk about an ugly bitch!”

“Hey, kick it harder, I don’t want to hear its whining.”

Daniel frowned, his fists clenching. He stood up, throwing his towel over his shoulder, and started to walk over to the small alleyway that the noises were coming from. 

A group of teenage delinquents were gathered around a small dog with matted and dirty hair. They were smoking, laughing as the dog whined in fear when they would come close. Just as one of them lifted a foot to kick the dog, Daniel stepped into the alleyway.

“Hey,” he said. The delinquents' heads all turned. “What do you think you’re doing?”

The middle one, who looked to be their de facto leader, stepped forward, his cigarette dangling at his fingertips. Daniel wrinkled his nose at the smell. “Just having a little fun. Say, what’s your name, sweetheart?”

Daniel frowned “A little fun? Do you think it’s funny to kick animals?”

“Awe, don’t be like that. Hey, if you give me a little kiss, I’ll let the mutt go.” The leader puckered his lips and closed his eyes. The two lackeys laughed. 

Daniel sighed, glancing at the dog. He opened his mouth to reply that he “would rather kiss the inside of a toilet seat” when a beaten up, black-and-white sneaker smashed into the delinquent's puckered lips. Quickly, the person’s other leg came up to knee the stunned pervert in the balls, making him double over in pain. 

“Shit!” he said, rolling on the ground. “You broke my fucking nose!”

The two lackeys both took a step back, lifting their arms to prepare for a fight. But the new person didn’t even glance at them, turning around to look at Daniel.

“Are you alright?” 

Daniel nodded, eyes wide. 

Johan… You look more hopeful than I remember.

Daniel’s last memory of Johan had been a letter that the other boy sent to his house, a year after he and his mother moved away so he could focus on his studies. It was written shakily, the result of an even worse eye condition. He had apologized for the harm he caused Daniel, and the trouble that he had put everyone else through, but that if he had to do it all again he would. 

Daniel kept that letter locked up tightly, as a reminder that at least one of them got out.

“I’m okay,” he said. Johan nodded, turning back to the cowering lackeys. He stepped forward, causing the two to step backward. 

Another step. 

And another. 

Finally, he reached the whimpering dog. The two lackeys were pressed up against the wall, shivering in their third-hand designer shoes. Johan brought a gentle hand out to pick the dog up, cradling it in his arms like a baby. 

He made his way back to the entrance of the alley, brushing shoulders with Daniel. “Do you need me to — ” Johan’s eyes widened as the hands of the delinquent leader and both of the lackeys came up to grab at his throat. 

Except, Daniel intercepted the attack, gripping three wrists tightly, one in his left and two in his right hand. 

In a blur, he twisted all three of them upside down, and they landed with a loud THUMP! onto the unforgiving concrete. Silence descended on the alleyway. 

Johan raised both eyebrows in surprise. “That move… ” 

“Hey,” Daniel said, grinning up at him. “Any chance you need a sparring partner?”

Chapter Text

After their initial meeting in the alleyway, Daniel offered to share a meal together from a late night tteokbokki stand. As he expected, Johan jumped at the chance, and within seconds had devoured five bowls before Daniel even finished his first.

“Ah, your boyfriend has such a good appetite,” the tteokbokki seller said, placing ten more bowls onto the table. 

“Thank you, Ahjumma, but he’s not my boyfriend,” Daniel said, picking up a second bowl. Johan didn’t even register the woman’s words.

“Ah, unrequited love… ” the seller whispered. She pumped a small fist in the air. “Fighting!”

Daniel smiled politely as the seller finally walked away. The two fighters ate in silence, satiating their midnight food cravings. It was far from uncomfortable, even though Daniel Park and Johan Seong hadn’t technically met before. But just like their meeting in his last life, it seemed like they had come to a mutual comfortableness in each other's company. Daniel hoped it lasted longer than last time. 

No, he’d make sure it lasted longer.

“I don’t think I actually caught your name,” Daniel said.

“It’s Johan,” he answered in between bites.

“I’m Daniel,” he said. “But my friends call me Dani.” Johan nodded absently, licking his lips. He seemed to finally be slowing down.

“So, you need a sparring partner?”

“Ah, yes. I’ve been having some problems finding someone who is willing.”

“Why?” Johan asked, tilting his head. “You’re strong.” 

After weeks of rejections, Johan’s bluntness caused a warm feeling to rise in Daniel’s chest. For someone that Daniel had constantly looked up to in terms of strength, managing to exceed every single expectation placed on himself and crawl his way back up, it was a great compliment. But it also reminded Daniel of how Johan had changed after Gun disbanded God Dog.

“Thanks,” he said. “But those jerks weren’t even that difficult.”

Johan nodded, setting down his chopsticks. He made eye contact with Daniel. “How did you learn that move from earlier?” 

“What move?”

“The one you used to take down the three delinquents.”

“Oh, it’s just something I saw… ” From my training with Gun, he finished inwardly, but it definitely wouldn’t be good to reveal that fact. Technically, he hadn’t yet met Gun, and he shouldn’t know anything about the Four Crews or Charles Choi. “Why do you ask?”

Johan furrowed his brows. “Hm. It’s nothing,” he said, but Daniel knew that wasn’t true. 

“So, do you want to be my sparring partner?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Hm.” Johan seemed to be debating it. 

“I’ll pay for your meal after every spar.” 

“Deal.” Johan said. Inwardly, Daniel laughed. “And could you order more bowls?”

“Ah!” Daniel said, nodding excitedly. “Definitely! Ahjumma, can we get ten more bowls over here?”

And that’s how Daniel finally found a place to (re)hone his skills. 

Overall, sparring with Johan was… interesting. Daniel had never truly had a sparring partner before, just opponents or mentors. His time with Gun was perhaps the closest he got, but he wasn’t anywhere close to Gun’s level to be able to properly spar. It had been more like Daniel was a small kitten attempting to leave a scratch on an impenetrable iron wall.

At first, Johan was hesitant to even hit Daniel. For the first minutes of their initial spar, all he did was dodge Daniel’s (half-hearted) attacks. 

“You’re good,” Johan said. “But you need to — ” With a loud SMACK, Daniel hit Johan with his favorite move: the Brazilian kick. He was quickly growing tired of the cat-and-mouse game they were playing. 

Johan reacted quickly, bringing his forearm up to block Daniel’s foot. But at the last second Daniel curved the kick so that it hit just below his arm, striking at his ribs. Johan coughed, the wind knocked out of him. 

Without hesitating, Johan started to fight more seriously. He entered a boxing stance and swung a right hook at Daniel, who easily dodged. He decided to punish Johan’s audacity by grabbing the outstretched arm and flipping Johan over his back. He hit the ground with a soft thump, much lighter than Daniel normally would throw people. It was just a spar, after all. 

Johan narrowly escaped Daniel’s attempt to grapple him, rolling over and standing up. He swept a leg out towards Daniel, who jumped backwards to evade it. 

They stared at each other, both fists raised, ready to continue, when a loud BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! interrupted them. 

“Break time,” Daniel said, dropping his fists. He walked over to the bench where they put their water bottles and snacks (both bought at a discount by Daniel, of course). “What were you saying, before?” he asked, feeling a little impish. 

“…” Johan mumbled something incomprehensible into his water bottle, ears reddened. 

Their spars ended up being a lot more interesting, after that. Of course, not wanting to brutally maim Johan made the fights a lot less exciting than the ones he was used to. He really couldn’t use most of the stuff Gun taught him unless he wanted to send the poor boy to the hospital. 

Johan was an amazing fighter nonetheless. Just… not quite at the level he would rise to. For now, Daniel was sure he could defeat Johan, even with his body’s current limitations. But without the grueling 24/7 training from Gun, it would take a lot longer for Daniel to regain that level of expertise. And if his assessment of each crews’ current strength was correct, he couldn’t afford to go in without proper planning.

So as much as it pained him to wait, he did. And until he knew he was strong enough, Daniel and Johan sparred.

With his newfound friendship (even though Johan didn’t seem keen on calling it that, but Daniel was hopeful that it was just him being shy), frequent trips to Sophia’s place to further retrain his reflexes, shopping trips with the other fashion department girls (Zoe was very, very insistent he came along for every single one), and his part-time job, time flew by. Before Daniel knew it, finals season was approaching for his first semester of high school. 

And, just like what happened at the end of his original freshman year at J-High, he had totally neglected studying.

In his defense, it wasn’t like J-High had any weekly tests or even midterm exams. In contrast to a normal high school, it focused more on occupational work. For example, in the baking department, you were considered top of the class if your cake was the best in class. Final exams were sort of an excuse for the school to officially test their general education, but they weren’t all that talked about. 

Even though he had been in high school relatively recently, Daniel couldn’t for the life of himself remember much about his education. In his mind, there were far more important things happening.

Nonetheless, here he was, just a week out from final exams with basically no studying to show for it. Balancing responsibilities was a lot easier when you had two bodies and were conscious for twenty-four hours every day.

“How are you feeling about finals, Dani?” Zoe set her tray down next to Daniel’s in the cafeteria, sitting down on the bench carefully. Although it looked a lot easier to do so after she had ditched the skin-tight pencil skirt and started to wear “skorts” (Daniel had recently learned about them while on another shopping trip). 

“Uh… ” he said, scratching his cheek. 

“That bad?” Mira asked, looking up from her own food. 

“Maybe.” Truthfully, Daniel didn’t think he’d do horribly, but he was hoping to get all the crew stuff figured out prior to graduating, if that was even possible. Assuming he would successfully take down Charles Choi and the Four Crews by then, he would need good grades to get into a university.

“If you need any help studying, just let us know,” Mira said, grinning. Zoe nodded as well. 

“Thanks, guys,” he said. They continued to talk about upcoming classes, worrying about their lack of preparation.

Behind them, Yui Kim pursed her lips. 

After eating, the trio walked back to their class. Despite being concerned for his finals, Daniel found himself drifting off during classes again, staring out the window. 

With the fall semester finishing up, it would soon be the start of everything. If he remembered everything, the first person from the Four Crews that they officially “fought” was Jake Kim and the illegal lottery system. With Jake’s current fighting capabilities (as Gun recounted to him), Daniel was pretty sure he could take him, and he was definitely the easiest target (aside from Johan, but he really didn’t want to go beating his new/old friend up). The only problem was… 

As he got up to sharpen a pencil, Daniel glanced at where Jiho was frantically taking notes for class. If he remembered correctly, Jiho was ranked second in their class, and was also their class representative. Truly, he had a promising future. Daniel couldn’t let him get involved in the world of crews again. As such, he needed to keep him away from anything involving the illegal lotteries. So he’d need a way to catch Jake Kim without having Jiho fall victim to the scam.

After classes ended, Zoe and Mira approached Daniel about studying at a local internet cafe. “My friend said they give hourly discounts during finals season,” Zoe said. 

“Really?” he asked. His pockets had been a little light due to the sheer amount of food Johan would devour. Although, if he remembered correctly, those meals might be the only reliable source of food for the other boy. Maybe I should learn to cook, so I’m not buying takeout and junk food all the time…

“I want to come, too!” Zack said, hurriedly packing away his items. He had been on the outs with Mira recently after getting into another petty fight. Daniel had tried to console him, but Zack seemed to take it the wrong way, telling her to “butt out of their business.”

“Are you even going to study?” Mira asked, crossing her arms. “Last time we went to a cafe you got into another fight!”

“I won’t fight,” he said, holding his arms out in a begging gesture. “I promise!” Mira looked at him, staring hard, then sighed and nodded. When she turned around, Zack pumped his hand in the air. 

“Is there anyone else we should invite?” Zoe asked. “The private study rooms can hold up to six people. And it’ll be cheaper if we split with more.” Daniel skimmed the rest of the class, who for some reason were all still present. If he was more conceited he might’ve realized that they were hoping “Dani” would pick them as one of the next two study partners. 

His eyes caught on the blond who was deathly still, sitting rigidly in his seat. “Jay! Do you want to join us?”

“Are Dani Park and Jay Hong dating?”

“They offered to clean the classroom a couple of months ago, right? Do you think they got together then?”

“No way, Jay Hong doesn’t even talk!”

“I guess Dani likes the silent type… ”

“Should I take a vow of silence as well?”

“Idiot, it only works for handsome guys. You’d just look dumb.”

Daniel and Jay ignored the class’s murmurings. The blond nodded ever so slightly, robotically packing up his belongings. His ears were tinged red.

“Well, we still have one more spot,” Zoe said. “Hm… ” She looked around, but didn’t seem satisfied with anyone else in class. “I guess we don’t really need a full six.”

But Daniel, having gotten Jay’s agreement, was already walking to the back of the class, where a glasses-wearing figure was still hunched over his notebooks.

“Hey, Jiho, you’re also good at studying, right? Would you like to tag along?” 

Jiho Park couldn’t believe his luck. A hot girl talked to him! And invited him to go study! Not only that, she was the newly-crowned goddess of the fashion department, Dani Park! 

Ah… It must be the new sneakers I bought, he thought. She couldn’t resist!

He was planning on waiting out in the classroom for a few extra minutes in the hopes of avoiding any lingering bullies. Even during finals season they didn’t let up. In fact, they tended to get a lot worse, threatening to make Jiho’s life even more miserable if he didn’t help them cheat. And he didn’t, usually, which meant that their threats were realized.

But if I walk around with them…  

He glanced up at the group he was walking behind. Zack Lee and Mira Kim, the renowned boxer and his girlfriend; Zoe Kim, their class’s biggest flirt; Jay Hong, the richest kid at their school; and, of course, Dani Park. The hottest girl in their class — no, in the whole school.

Who would dare to pick on me now?

With a spring in his step, he started to walk faster to catch up. He decided the safest person to talk next to was Dani, although she was in the very middle. If I’m in the middle, doesn’t that mean I’d be looked to more?

As tried to move in between her and Zack Lee, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine. Walking on the other side of Dani, Zoe Park had turned her head slightly and was glaring down at him. Jiho knew that look. It was one that many of his bullies would shoot towards him if his eyes accidentally glanced at their girlfriends.

“Jiho?” Dani asked, also turning around, and the pressure from Zoe’s glare dissipated. “Why are you walking so far behind? Here, you can walk next to me.” She moved a little away from Zack, opening up a spot

In Jiho’s warped vision, flowers seemed to bloom around Dani. He couldn’t remember the last time a girl was so nice to him! Ah, maybe he should beg his parents for more pocket money so he could splurge on another new pair of sneakers. Or maybe a Chrome Hearts ring?

As Jiho walked next to Dani Park, he just knew that the next semester of high school would be the best yet.

With the help of their study group, Daniel was able to rank fourth in their year. Winter break brought with it a quick visit back home to his mother, who he decided to surprise with a new set of clothes. He knew that if he brought her to a clothing store, she’d simply end up buying things for him, so he got one step ahead of her this time.

“Oh, Daniel, you shouldn’t be spending your hard-earned money on your mother! My clothes still fit just fine,” his mother said. They settled down at the table laden with his welcome home crab soup. 

“It’s okay,” he replied. “I got them all on sale, so they were dirt cheap.”

“Really?” Daniel nodded. The outfit was from the clothing store that he was a fit model for, a very chic-looking set that he knew his mom would look great in. “Oh, Seoul has really made you grow,” she said, with a wobbling lip.

“How have you been, Mom?” he asked. This time, they had kept in touch a lot more frequently than in his last life, with almost daily calls exchanged between them, but he had barely been able to find the time during finals season.

“I’ve been just wonderful, Daniel,” she said. “But what about you? I know you’ve told me all about those friends you’ve made, but I want to see pictures!” Daniel laughed, opening his phone to his photo gallery. He handed it over to his mom to scroll through, laughing along at the timeline. 

“Oh, that’s when we went to an arcade together! Mira is surprisingly crazy good at claw machines. And that’s when we went out to eat at a new restaurant that opened up. Zoe almost puked because she ate so much sushi. And that’s when… ” Daniel explained every photo on his camera roll as his mother smiled. So caught up in his memories, he had forgotten one important detail. 

“Oh,” his mom said, finger hovering over the phone. The photo she just swiped to was from one of his, Mira, and Zoe’s shopping trips as a trio. Mira and Zoe knew he preferred more masculine clothing (Zoe had mentioned multiple times how cool she found it that Dani wore pants to school), but they had managed to convince Daniel to try on a black pleated dress from some clothing store (was it Luis Vetty? Something like that). Surprisingly, the dress had fit perfectly. Mira and Zoe had insisted on taking photos of him in the outfit so that he could consider buying it later. 

Being mistaken as a girl for the last few months hadn’t really annoyed Daniel all that much. He had gotten used to it by now, and he found that, while sometimes frustrating, it wasn’t all that different from being a guy. He just happened to be taken for a girl for some reason.

But, there was a growing worry in his gut every second his mother stared down at the photo. Thinking about it, Daniel realized that a man wearing women’s clothing could easily be seen as perverted. Hell, he himself saw it that way until Mira and Zoe convinced him to try the dress on. 

So, after a few seconds of silence, he grabbed his phone from his mother’s hand, hastily turning it off. He looked toward the ceiling. “Ah, that was… I mean, my friends and I were just… ” He stumbled over his words, hands shaky. His body was heating up. “Just ignore that!”

“Daniel,” his mom said. He immediately shut up. His mom tilted his head down, so that he was facing her again. She was smiling. “You look very pretty in that dress.”

Daniel felt his face heat up. Mira and Zoe had complimented him, but… “Thanks, Mom.”

“Do you still want to go by Daniel?” she asked. 

“Oh, Daniel’s fine,” he said. “It’s the name you gave me, after all.”

His mother’s face turned stern. “If that’s not the name you want to go by, then I won’t use it. Just because your mother chose it doesn’t mean it’s not your decision.” 

Daniel smiled. He grabbed his mom’s calloused and rough hands, squeezing them. “No, it’s not because of that. I like being called Daniel, Mom.” She scanned his face for lies, then smiled, tight-lipped.

“Well, if that ever changes, you tell me right away, okay?”

“I will, Mom.”

“Now you should hurry up and eat more soup.”

“Yes, Mom.”

“If you need money for more food, just let me know. I worry that you’re not eating enough.”

“I am eating enough, I promise. I’m actually eating more than I used to! So I was wondering if you could teach me how to cook some dishes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Definitely.”

“Alright, I’ll show you how to make some rice with eggs tomorrow.”

Daniel smiled down at his soup, swirling a crab leg around the broth. “Thanks, Mom. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Alright, he thought. It’s time to really get started.

“Hey, Dani!” Zoe said, walking up to where he was standing outside the school gates. They started to walk in together. 

“Hi, Zoe. How was your break?” he asked.

“It was pretty boring, but we were able to visit my grandpa, so that was nice! What about yours?”

Daniel thought back to the pile of groceries he just put away last night, awaiting to be used in the dishes his mom taught him to make over the break. “It was great.”

“Say, do you notice anything new about me?” she asked, doing a quick spin. Daniel paused, looking her up and down, from her ear muffs and sweater to her pants. 

Wait. 

“You’re wearing the pants with the uniform?” he asked. She was still wearing the girl’s top, but the bottoms were definitely a pair of the same gray slacks he had on. 

“Yep! It’s still so cold out right now that I figured it would be nice to wear something warmer,” she said. 

“Yeah, I can’t imagine walking around in a skirt this time of year,” he said. They reached their classroom, where Daniel could already hear the voices of his friends talking.

“It was also… ” Zoe blushed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Well, I thought you just looked so cool in yours.”

“Oh,” he said. “Um. Thanks, Zoe.”

“It’s no problem!” she said. They stared at each other for a moment, before Zoe pushed past him to walk to her desk. 

What was that about?

Shrugging it off, Daniel went to step into the class, but a hurried student accidentally bumped into him. 

“Sorry!” the person said, their arms reaching out to catch Daniel as he fell, only for him to save himself. The person’s arms awkwardly hung out for a second before they put them back down. “Sorry about this, Miss.”

“It’s fine,” Daniel said, looking at the person they bumped into. 

Ah.

“No, really, I’m so sorry,”

“It’s really fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Definitely, dude,”

“Well, alright,” he said. He took a step away, then another, continuously glancing back at Daniel as though the small bump had mortally wounded the other. Daniel smiled to himself before walking inside the classroom, settling down at his seat.

Around him, Daniel’s classmates immediately started to gossip. 

“Oh. My. God.”

“They looked so hot together.”

“Isn’t Dani Park already dating Jay?”

“Do you think she’s two-timing him?”

“I knew she wasn’t all that nice. I mean, come on, all she’s got going is her looks.”

“Seriously, and she wears pants like she thinks she’s a dude.”

“Hey,” Zoe said, turning around to face the gossip circle. She had only heard the last few whispered sentences, but her fists were clenched in rage. “What do you think you’re saying about Dani? You’re just jealous because she’s a thousand times better than any of you nerds!” she huffed out, turning back away from them. 

“Ugh, Zoe’s such a bitch.”

“Do you think she’s wearing pants because Dani is? Talk about a copycat.”

“Ha, she’s not even half as hot as Dani is.”

“Yeah, Dani looks cute in those pants. She just looks like a lesbo.”

“O-M-G, do you think she actually is one?”

“Ugh, gross! I don’t want some dyke in our school.”

The gossipers didn’t even bother to lower their voices that much. Zoe looked down at her desk, fists clenched in her brand-new school pants.

In the back, Daniel sat down next to Zack, who was scrolling on Tic-Tac-Tok. “How was your break, Zack?” he asked. Zack grunted in response, scratching an itch on his arm. 

Sighing, Daniel turned to Jay, waving at the blond boy. “Your break was good, Jay? Oh, I’m glad. Who was that outside? Oh, I’m not sure, he accidentally bumped into me.” 

Just then, Mr. Yoon, their homeroom teacher, entered, ending the conversation. He started to do the classic spiel about the start of a new year and new beginnings, which Daniel immediately tuned out. 

Hm… Eli. You’re going to get dragged back into the business soon. Should I stop that? But… 

He thought back to the photo that Hostel had taken together just a few weeks before he had died. They were all grinning widely at the camera, even Warren and Eli, with Yenna right in the middle. 

And you and Olly Wang haven’t had the chance to make up yet. 

He groaned quietly, slipping down into his chair a little bit. 

This timeline stuff is so complicated. I change one thing and suddenly everything will be different. What will happen if I prevent Olly Wang’s death? Should I… 

He shook his head.

No, nobody deserves to die. 

I’ll make sure of that.

And my first step… is to get noticed by DG.

And so, the new year and second semester had started.

Chapter Text

Obviously, the easiest way to get to DG was to join PTJ Entertainment. Unfortunately, Daniel was quickly notified by a customer service rep that they were not currently taking trainees. “Check back in a month or so,” she said.

Their school festival would be in a month. 

Alternatively, he considered starting to stream or posting Tic-Tac-Toks… But he shivered at the thought of the stalker. No, thanks.  

He also considered starting up a Pacebook page like last time, but… DG wouldn’t be interested in people who just looked good. He wanted talented assets. And there was really only one good way to show off Daniel’s capabilities on a wider scale. 

So, until the festival, he simply worked on regaining the same dancing skills he had before — after all, the only way he had survived his idol training last time was because his original body was able to practice. Luckily he still remembered every single choreography their class learned. Although, it did feel a lot like cheating… 

Besides that, Jay somehow discovered that it was his birthday. Again. He had even given him the same catalogue of clothes as last time, but the only difference was that there were a few more… feminine pieces mixed in.

He was happy nonetheless, and made sure to hug Jay when he saw him next. He hadn’t really thanked Jay last time, after all. 

He also got to meet Joy a bit earlier than before.

“This is the ‘friend’ your butler mentioned?” Joy asked, peeking out from behind Jay’s back. She had begged her driver to let her visit her brother behind their father’s back, but she wasn’t expecting to see him on… what seemed like a date.

Daniel and Jay were both at a local cafe that had just opened up nearby. Daniel had offhandedly mentioned wanting to go, as he had always passed by it in his past life but never got to go in, when Jay suddenly invited him to go the very next day. 

Strangely, despite the fact that the cafe should be crawling with office workers heading home, school kids heading to cram school, or harried double shift workers who needed a boost of caffeine, they had been alone in the cafe with only the barista, who excused herself to go to the back after giving them their orders. That is, until Joy Hong appeared.

“You mentioned me?” Daniel teased, enjoying the way Jay’s face flushed.  “Oh, just casually? Hm. I’m hurt.” 

Jay’s face fell, his hands frantically waving in front of himself. “Not casually? Then you were talking about me seriously?” 

Somehow, Jay’s face got even darker, and he seemed to key into the fact that Daniel was teasing him. Daniel laughed as Jay pouted. “Aw, I’m sorry, Jay. Here, you can have some of my tiramisu.” He pushed his slice of tiramisu towards the blond, who pushed it right back towards him. They continued to push it back-and-forth.

“Oh, wow,” Joy said, moving her head between the two. “He wasn’t kidding. Hey, I wonder what Dad — ”

Jay’s eyes, previously locked on Daniel, immediately moved to glared at Joy. “…”

“But, if he knew you were — ” she started, but Jay shook his head, frowning. “Please. I’m sure he’d be willing to talk to you again if he met Dani.”

Daniel looked between the two siblings. Jay mentioned before that he and his father didn’t get along, but… they don’t even talk to each other?

Once again, Jay shook his head. “Okay,” Joy said, shoulders slumping. “I won’t. But… at least introduce me to your new friend?” Jay stared at her for a moment, then sighed, sitting back in his chair. Joy pumped a fist, pulling up a small seat to their table. “Sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier, that was pretty rude. I’m Joy Hong, Jay’s little sister.”

Daniel smiled. Joy had always been a, well, joy to be around. “I’m Dani Park,” he said. 

“What a cute name,” she said. “You’re so pretty, too, Unnie. Do you mind if I call you that?”

“Not at all,” Daniel said. Across the table, he could say Jay’s hands were gripping the table tightly. “Jay, you should loosen your grip. You might hurt your hands!” He reached over and pried Jay’s hands off the table, massaging them slightly. Jay’s face, previously solemn, quickly became red once more. 

“Oh, wow,” Joy repeated. “Ne, Unnie, have you ever thought about being a fitting model?” she asked. “Or even a normal model! I work as one right now, so I could totally hook you up with a job.”

“Hm, I haven’t thought that much about it,” he said, lying, because Daniel now knew he had a solution to his money and time problems. Because, as much as discounts at the convenience store were nice, he could really use a higher hourly wage… Plus, he wasn’t getting all that much sleep lately. “But it sounds like it could be fun.”

“It can be a little boring sometimes, but my manager is super nice! Here, I’ll text you her number… Could I see your phone?”

And so, Daniel, Jay, and Joy spent the next couple of hours at the cafe. When it came time for the bill, both Hong siblings seemed offended when Daniel tried to pay.

Daniel stopped by the dance and vocal department nearly every afternoon. Unlike the fashion department, which was full of students with the chicest and most avant garde clothing currently available, the dance and vocal department was full of students with earbuds in or instruments strapped onto backs. 

Like last time, he and Duke had met in an empty classroom as Daniel was humming to himself. Duke, just as ambitious as ever, asked him to perform at the festival. And, of course, Daniel said yes.

Just before he entered the practice room that he and Duke were meant to meet at, a hand came up to trap him against the wall. 

Daniel sighed, frowning at the door. Will it ever be possible for me to just enter a classroom without being stopped?  

“Hey,” the person said. “What’s a hottie like you doing here?”

Daniel rolled his eyes, pushing Vin Jin away. “None of your business,” he said. While Vin Jin might be a friend in the future, for now he was just Duke’s bully. 

“Hey,” he said, reaching another hand out, but Daniel easily evaded, opening and closing the classroom door before he could reach him. 

“Huh,” Vin Jin said, staring at his hand. Have I really gotten that slow?

After that, Daniel had been more aware while entering the dance and vocal department, feeling a bit like he and Duke were having an illicit affair as star crossed lovers. 

Soon enough, it was festival day. 

“… And that’s five hundred dollars for Eli Jang from the Beauty Department. Moving on to our very last ‘item’ up for auction… ” 

Zack Lee stepped up onto the platform, hair freshly slicked back, hands in pocket, chest puffed out. He looked a little like a parrot who had been freshly groomed.

“First bid?”

“Five dollars!” someone in the crowd yelled. Zack excitedly looked around, waiting for the next bid (or, in reality, for a certain someone to bid), but nothing happened.

“Right,” the MC said, “Five dollars. Any others?”

… 

“Okay then, going once, going twice… Sold!” he said. Zack was frozen in the middle of the stage, seemingly in disbelief that he could be that undesirable. The MC leaned over. “Sorry, kid. But at least you had someone bid, unlike that Architecture kid.” 

Zack’s despondent body was unceremoniously dragged off the platform. 

“Hey, Mira, are you really okay with Zack going on a date with another girl?” Zoe asked, munching on a fried snack. 

“Well… ” Mira said, pouting a little. “It’s not like we’re officially dating. Plus, I don’t really like the idea of the auction anyway, so I didn’t want to bid.”

“But it all goes to charity!” she said. 

“Sure, but all of the guys who go up there seem like they want to die,” Mira said. “And I feel like it’s not really fair that girl’s aren’t also auctioned off.”

“Oh, do you think they’ll ever have a women’s auction?” Zoe asked, perking up. She glanced at Daniel, smiling a little. “I think it would be super fun!”

“Hm?” he said. “Maybe. But I feel like that could be a little more dangerous than the men’s auction.”

“I bet Dani would break the bid record!” Zoe said. “But I guess you’re right, it would be pretty dangerous.”

“You know how to fight, though,” Mira said.

“Yeah, but I don’t really enjoy doing it unless I’m protecting someone,” he said. “It can get pretty out-of-hand, and at that point I’m no better than a bully.”

Mira nodded. “Exactly! I wouldn’t mind if Zack fought so much if he was protecting something. But all he does is get into stupid squabbles.”

“He’ll grow out of it,” Daniel said. It’ll only take a beating or two.  

“I think fighting is super cool, though… ” Zoe mumbled. 

Daniel checked his phone, and saw a reminder to get ready for the talent show. “Ah, I need to go get ready for the talent show.” 

“I can’t believe you won’t tell us what you’re performing,” Zoe said. 

“Go and get ready,” Mira said. “We’ll be cheering you on!”

Daniel waved goodbye to the two of them. Truthfully, while he did need to get ready for the talent show, he wanted to try and find Crystal and Gun. She hadn’t bid on him this time, but she must’ve been about to leave by now. But when he got to the place that they met last time, neither there nor her bodyguard were anywhere to be seen. 

Huh?

He started to do a few laps around the area, looking for Gun’s memorable black-and-yellow shirt, but it truly seemed like they hadn’t even been anywhere near J-High. How come?

“Dani!” a voice called out, slightly out-of-breath.

Daniel’s head turned towards the owner, and saw Duke running towards him. “Duke! What — ” 

“You weren’t answering your phone! They’re doing sound checks for the talent show right now, so we should hurry.”

Daniel looked down at his phone and, sure enough, it was only about thirty minutes before they had to perform. “Sorry, Duke,” he said, pocketing his phone. “Let’s head there.”

“What were you doing back here?” Duke asked, as they walked back. 

“Oh,” he said, “Just looking for someone. But I guess they’re not here.”

In the end, their performance went great, just like last time. Another trainee offer came, but he rejected it, already anticipating the PTJ Entertainment offer.

After the performance, Zoe quickly excused herself from the group to go to the bathroom. She quickly entered a stall and locked it, ignoring the trio of girls already inside who exchanged glances at her entrance. 

Wow… Dani just looked so, so, so…

She buried her head in her hands, kicking her feet up and down on the bathroom floor. 

Calm down. Calm down. Ugh, my face feels so flushed… Did Dani notice?

Zoe moved towards the sink, quickly washing her hands and splashing some water on her face. She had taken to wearing only minimal makeup lately, just like Dani, so the water didn’t ruin her look. 

Yui Kim walked up beside her and leaned against the sink counter. Zoe, who was still processing Dani’s performance, ignored her, and moved to exit the bathroom. “Heard what you were saying to Dani Park, earlier,” Yui said, delicately powdering her nose. Zoe wrinkled her nose, turning around. 

“What?”

Yui’s voice went into a mocking, high-pitched tone. “‘Oh, do you think they’ll ever have a women’s auction?’ Honestly, you might as well go and profess your undying lesbian love.” The two groupees laughed into their hands like hyenas. 

Zoe bit her lip, turning to leave again. Dani wouldn’t like it if I fought. “Goodbye, Yui,” she said, grabbing the bathroom door’s handle. 

“Off to go do dyke shit, I guess,” one of the groupees said. “Hey, isn’t Dani also sleeping around with Jay Hong and Eli Jang? Wow, talk about sloppy seconds.”

“Yeah,” Yui said, looking at Zoe’s increasingly tense back. “Talk about a slut. ” 

Immediately, Zoe let go of the handle, marching up to Yui with her hand raised. Her eyes were full of anger. “Keep Dani’s name out of your — ”

“Zoe, are you okay? You’ve been in here awhile. Do you need a pad or something?” Mira opened the bathroom door to Zoe’s upraised hand, ready to strike. “Zoe? Yui?”

“Oh, hi, Mira,” Yui said. “Zoe was just helping me fix my hair, weren’t you?” 

Zoe clenched her hand, lowering it. “… Yeah. I was.” Mira could sense something was wrong with the answer, but brushed it off. 

“Well, we should get back. Jay apparently offered to take us out to celebrate Dani and Duke’s performance.”

“Right,” Zoe said. “Let’s go.” She grabbed Mira’s hand, dragging them out of the bathroom as Yui looked at them. Zoe’s nails dug into Mira’s palm, but the other girl didn’t say anything about it.

After not meeting Crystal at the school festival, Daniel was nervous that he wouldn’t ever be able to meet Gun. That was the first thing tying them together, after all, and one of the reasons why Gun had been willing to at least somewhat help his second body out. Daniel knew that, without the black VVIP badge, he wouldn’t be able to gain access to the illegal documents of the 4th Affiliates or to sneak into Club Vivi (he wasn’t keen on letting himself get drugged again).

But… there’s not much I can do right now. I could go to James Lee’s school or the abandoned car park, but I’m pretty sure he’d just kill me outright as I am right now… Though, would he hit a “girl”? 

Well, I wouldn’t put it past him. But I wouldn’t want him to go easy on me, either.

But at the same time, Daniel knew that getting involved with Gun would kick start everything again. Meeting DG was one thing, but Gun… Even after all these years, Daniel had no idea what Gun’s ultimate plan was. At least his knowledge that DG was James Lee gave Daniel some semblance of security. If push came to shove, he could threaten to release the information. But Gun? Daniel wasn’t fully convinced that his mentor hadn’t just appeared into the world fully formed.

I’m getting tired of waiting.

Life continued as he remembered it, with a few corrections. Duke got into live streaming, and was slowly amassing a loyal following. Zoe had also started to livestream, and Daniel managed to take down her stalker before she even fully became aware of him. Daniel started to model alongside Zoe, letting him quit his convenience store job. He convinced Zack to not ask Namsoo to find his sneakers, thereby avoiding the Craigslist fiasco. Once a week, he and Johan met up to spar. At their camp retreat, he immediately reported Zeus’ behavior to the police. 

But, once they got back from the camp, a new student was introduced to the class. 

“Everyone,” Mr. Yoon said. “Please welcome our new student.”

I can’t believe I forgot about Little Crystal, Daniel thought. 

Just like last time, Crystal was looked down on by the other students in class. Daniel felt his hands clench in rage at their classmates’ words. While Daniel had gotten over his crush on Little Crystal, he still couldn't stand how others were treating her.

But… Little Crystal hated it when he tried to stand up for her in his last life. Although, now that he thought about it, Little Crystal didn’t seem to enjoy Daniel’s presence in his last life… “Dani” might be a different story.

Daniel decided to approach Crystal right as their break started. “Hi,” he said, holding out a hand. “I’m Dani Park. Welcome to J-High! I was the newest transfer, so I know how it feels to be in a new place. Do you want to get lunch together?” 

Just like last time, Crystal stared at Daniel’s outstretched hand. He honestly wasn’t sure if she would take it or reject it, but after a moment she simply nodded. “Let’s go,” she said, moving to leave.

And so, Crystal and Daniel hung out for the very first time at school. Zoe and Mira hit it off with her right away, although Zoe seemed a little overprotective when Crystal tried to sit down next to Daniel. 

Enu! Daniel thought to himself. You idiot, Daniel Park? How could you forget about Enu!

Without his convenience store job, Daniel hadn’t had any reason to walk by the alleyway that Enu was still suffering in, pregnant with a litter of four. He all but wanted to die when he remembered that she must’ve been suffering for months, and he hadn’t even thought about her.

And so, he started to bring seaweed soup to Enu again. He did mix it up this time, utilizing a few of the recipes that his mother taught him to add more protein to her diet. Eventually, she finally agreed to let him take her and her puppies home. 

That’s right, Daniel thought, while making double the serving size of food to account for the new mouths. I forgot how expensive having five dogs is!

Just like last time, he confided to Jay about the situation, who took the four puppies on as his own, leaving him and Enu in the same old shack that they lived in before. 

“You got a dog?” Johan asked, eyeing Enu as she happily swirled around his feet, tail wagging. 

“Yep,” he said. Sometimes, if Daniel encountered Johan on the streets in his past life, he would get asked about how Enu was doing. It seemed he really cared for her well-being. “You have one too, right? Eden? Why don’t we go on a doggy date? My friend Jay is taking care of her puppies, so we can all meet up. I could also use a few tips for taking care of her.”

Johan considered Daniel’s words, split between not wanting to hang out for frivolous reasons but also being interested in helping Eden find some new friends. Hesitantly, he nodded.

“Great! I’ll text you the details later, I’ve been antsy for a fight.”

So, a few days later saw Daniel, Jay, and Johan in a nearby dog park, watching as Enu and Eden sized each other up while the four puppies rolled around in the grass. 

“This is my friend, Johan,” he said. The two boys stood across from each other, mirroring their dogs. “You know how you recommended Sophia for training? Well, she said that I should find a sparring partner who was more my size, and luckily Johan happened to agree!”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Johan said, offering his hand. Jay shook it tensely. Daniel smiled at both of them, happy that they were getting along. 

After all, if things go right… I need to make sure Johan trusts Jay.

Their doggy date went well, but Daniel couldn’t help but feel like Jay had been acting weird the whole time. Johan, of course, was unbothered.

Back at school, Crystal and Daniel started to get along a lot better, especially after Crystal saw Daniel taking care of Enu. 

“You’re a fitting model, right, Dani?” she asked, as they carried some paper over to the teacher’s lounge. 

“That’s right,” he said. “I need to pay rent, and my convenience store job didn’t pay that much.”

“Rent? But your clothes… ”

“Oh, these?” he asked. “Jay gave them to me! They’re some of his old clothes, apparently.”

“Hm… ” Crystal said, eyeing his outfit. “Did he ask anything in return for them?” For some reason, her tone had gotten very menacing.

“What? No, it was a birthday gift,” he said. 

“Has he given you any other gifts?” she asked. “Or does he keep mentioning the clothes?”

“Uh,” he scratched his cheek. Technically, he had given me a lot of gifts in the past, but not in this life… “No, he actually seems really embarrassed if I bring it up. Besides, they’re all hand-me-downs anyways.”

They set the papers down onto their homeroom teacher’s desk, heading back to their class. 

“I guess that’s alright, then,” she said. “Just let me know if that changes, okay?”

“Okay… ” he said. I feel like my life has been a long line of miscommunication lately. Crystal coughed.

“Are you… interested in streaming, Dani?” she asked suddenly. Daniel paused.

“Not really,” he said. I don’t want a repeat of what happened last time.

“Are you sure?” she asked, insistent. “If you’re nervous about it, I — I mean, my older sister is starting up a new streaming site. I’m sure if you talked to her she’d help hook you up.”

Daniel thought about it long enough for Crystal to take out her phone, showing him the application. “You just need to fill out the form to be considered,” she said. “I’ll be sure to tell my sister about you. I think you’d make a great streamer!”

“Hm… ” Daniel said. He pulled the form up on his own phone, scrolling through it. It was pretty standard stuff, but ONE MCN’s contract had seemed standard as well. “I’ll think about it.”

“Please do,” Crystal said. They had just arrived at their class, so she walked off to her own desk. Daniel sat down at his own, thinking.

Daniel and Duke hadn’t stopped hanging out, either. In fact, his whole friend group had easily accepted Duke into their midst, although hanging out at school itself was hard due to being in different departments. 

Perhaps that’s why Sports Day happened like it did. 

Daniel had wanted to talk to Duke after the festival, only to come across Vin Jin bullying him. Did this happen in my last life, too? he thought. 

“Hey, stop it!” he yelled, running up to put himself between Duke and Vin Jin. At the same time, a large grey blur also came to step in front of Duke. 

“You’re cool, Duke,” Vasco said. 

“What’s this, you have the fool of the Architecture department and a girl defending you?” Vin Jin mocked. “Well, I’ll make this quick.” He swept a leg out to Vasco, who immediately flipped him, causing his sunglasses to fall off. “Ah! No, no, no… ”

Vin Jin quickly scampered away, hands over his eyes. 

“Are you alright, Duke?” Daniel asked, coming up to dab at Duke’s wounds with a handkerchief. God… I never realized it was this bad.

“I’m okay, Dani,” he said. Vasco turned around from where he had been watching Vin Jin run away, putting a hand onto Dani’s shoulder.

“That was brave of you, to come in between them,” he said.  

“Duke’s a lot braver than me,” Daniel replied. Besides, Vin Jin hasn’t regained his strength yet. 

“You’re right,” Vasco said. 

“Brave… ” Duke said, looking down at Dani’s bloodied handkerchief. He looked back up at Vasco. “Do you think I could become as strong as you, someday?”

Vasco paused, standing up taller. He cleared his throat. “Of course! All you have to do is 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups… ”

Just a few days after that, the PTJ audition offer came. Like last time, Daniel refused to go to the audition without Duke, to which the recruiter reluctantly agreed. 

Finally, it was time for the audition.

Unlike last time, Daniel did prepare for his audition. DG had told him previously that the reason he originally disliked him was because of his lacklustre audition — therefore, to catch his attention he’d need to be as memorable as possible. 

“I’ll be singing a song that a good friend of mine wrote for me,” he said. A year ago, Duke, preparing for his first full-length album release, had asked Daniel to feature in one of his songs. 

“I mean, you were part of the reason I managed to get where I am now,” he had said. “It’s only right you’re a part of my first album.”

And so, he began to sing. 

Behind the glass that separated the auditioners from the evaluators, James Lee raised a single eyebrow. He looked down at the audition form, where a promising young woman smiled back at him.

Daniel Park. Goes by Dani.

That melody… Her last name… Could it be? But…

That woman had a son, not a daughter.

James Lee sighed, leaning back in his chair as Dani thanked them for having her. The other evaluators around him discussed the girl’s angelic voice, but all James could think about were memories he thought he had locked up years ago.

The call came at just the right time. 

“Hello?” Daniel answered, feigning confusion. “Who is this?”

“This is PTJ Entertainment,” the recruiter said. “We were all extremely impressed with your audition. When can you start training?”

“Oh, I can start whenever,” he says. 

“Wonderful. Then, we’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“Thank you so much, Sir. And may I ask how Duke did as well?”

“Who?”

“Duke, the person who auditioned right before me. We also performed together at our school festival?” There was silence for a moment, as the recruiter was clearly trying to remember. 

“Oh, Duke, right. Hm, I’m afraid he just wasn’t what we were looking for.” It’s expected, but disappointing. 

“Then I’m afraid I can’t accept,” he said, just like before. Even if Duke deserved better than to be looked down on by their future trainee class, he knew how important having access to the training would be for Duke. “I don’t want to be a trainee unless he is as well.”

“Hm… ” the recruiter said. He seemed to be rustling papers around. “That’s a real shame, then. Well, I guess we do have an overflow of female trainees this time. I hope you have good luck in your future endeavors, Miss Park. Have a good rest of your day!” Then the recruiter promptly hung up. 

Daniel stared at his phone. Huh? This didn’t happen last time. 

What would he do then? If he got into streaming, then there’s the chance that through PaprikaTV Crystal would introduce them… But that wasn’t even a guarantee. And Daniel desperately needed DG’s support for what was to come. 

He ran his fingers through his hair, which had grown out to be chin-length. He was constantly having to blow it out of his face, but Zoe and Mira said it made him look cool, so he decided against cutting it. Also, he didn’t really know any hairstylists other than Eli, and he had a feeling that wouldn’t end up well.  

Then, should I try to meet up with Jichang Kwak? He must be planning his revenge on Charles Choi by now, right? Or maybe I could contact the former members of Gapryong’s fist… the only problem is that I’m not quite sure I remember where they all live… 

As he was thinking, his phone started to ring again. Absently, he answered it, assuming it was his mother. “Hello?”

“Miss Park, are you still there?” It was the recruiter, who sounded a lot more harried than before. “Apologies for the last call. I just got confirmation that your friend has been accepted, so I look forward to seeing both of you tomorrow night. I hope that my indelicate words didn’t harm your impression of PTJ Entertainment.”

“No, you’re fine!” he said, inwardly sighing. “I’ll definitely be there.”

Chapter Text

Oliver and Lasol were just as cool as before.

“This is the training room,” Oliver said, sweeping his arms around. “Where dreams live and die.”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Lasol said, rolling her eyes. She put a hand on her hip, addressing the three new trainees. “Feel free to come to us if you have any questions. It can be hard to learn at first, but I’m sure you’ll all pick it up in no time. You’re PTJ trainees, after all.”

Despite his previous experience, and the small dance practice he would do in his free time, actual idol training was just as grueling as he remembered it being. Even though he had never really been criticized that harshly in his last life, it seemed like the instructors weren’t even half as kind as before. They kept nitpicking Daniel’s movements, calling them too “boyish” for a female idol.

“You move around like a man,” one of the dance instructors said, hitting Daniel’s hands after a particularly bad run through. “No sex appeal at all!”

“Your voice is too low,” his vocal instructor said. “You need to sound cuter!”

“And absolutely no curves,” a manager said. “Tsk. How are we supposed to advertise someone who’s as flat as a board?”

Even though Daniel was leagues ahead of his abilities the first time he was a trainee, none of his instructors seemed happy. 

“Sex appeal? A too deep voice? No curves?” Joy said angrily, munching on a premium meal from the company’s food hall. She had taken to paying for every single one of Class C’s meals, although most of them wound up convincing her to just pay for the second cheapest option, Daniel included. “Who cares about any of that! You’re definitely the best in class, aside from Oliver and Lasol. No offense, Unnie.”

“That’s how it is for female trainees,” Lasol said.

Although, not all of the employees were mean to Daniel. A few of them seemed to go out of their way to help Daniel out.

“I wish they wouldn’t be so hard on you girls,” one of the managers said, offering an ice cold water bottle to Daniel. Daniel, Lasol, and Joy had been at dance practice for two hours without a break, even though the boys had finished up within an hour.

“Thank you so much, Sir,” Daniel said, reaching out to take the water bottle. But before her hands closed on it, Lasol appeared to her right. 

“Hey, Dani, I wanted to check in with you about something I noticed during vocal practice,” she said, lightly tugging on Daniel’s arm. 

“Hm? Okay,” he said, waving goodbye confusedly to the manager. Lasol brought them to a separate room, stopping in a small corner. She put her hands on his shoulders. “What’s up, Lasol? Was I too sharp or something?”

“You… ” Lasol sighed, running her fingers through her hair. “Look, Dani, you should be a little more careful with the managers here.”

“What do you mean?” 

Lasol nodded to the water bottle in his hand. “I mean, you should be careful accepting gifts or anything like that from them. It goes to their heads.” Daniel tilted his head, looking at the bottle. 

“Sorry, Lasol, but… I still don’t really get what you’re saying.” 

“I just mean… be cautious, Dani. Nothing here is actually free.” Lasol grabbed the water bottle, chucking in the corner recycling can. She squeezed Daniel’s shoulder before letting go. “Well, I guess I should be glad you don’t get it. But just trust me on this, okay? And look out for Joy as well. We’re her unnies, after all.” 

Daniel nodded as he and Lasol stepped back out into the hallway. He didn’t quite get what she was saying, but knew from the Aru incident last time that the idol industry wasn’t all glitz and glamour. If Lasol said to be careful, he would be careful. 

For some reason, our conversation reminded me of when Crystal and I first met… 

Of course, nothing could be as bad as what Charles Choi or the Workers were doing, right?

-

Aru was just as horrible as Daniel remembered her being. 

“Ugh,” she said, nose wrinkling. “They totally need more time, don’t you think? Especially if that one,” she pointed to Duke, who was still panting from his evaluation, “is so bad. What are they even teaching in Class C?”

Why don’t you shut your mouth, Daniel thought. Even though Oliver and Lasol still saw her as a friend at this point, he had little to no appreciation for her. After all, Lasol had been offered the very same position… and declined it, because she was better than that. 

“You’re right, Aru,” the other evaluators said, nodding their heads. “Let’s see, next up… Dani Park?”

DG, who had previously been leaning back in his chair, leaned forward, clasping his hands in front of himself and resting his arms on his knees. 

Daniel went through the dance and vocal routine that Class C had been learning. He was back to the same ability as his past life; actually, if he thought about it, he was probably even better than in his past life.

The room was silent as Daniel went to sit back down next to Class C.

“She’s… ” The evaluators all glanced at Aru, knowing her fickle mood when it came to other women.

“…” Aru glared at Daniel. “She’s just okay. Obviously, she needs more training, right?”

“Right, right.”

“Exactly… ”

DG frowned into his clasped hands as the Class C trainees all filed out.

So he kept training with Class C. Due to not having his second body, Daniel was able to avoid Duke’s ears being unwillingly pierced by Aru’s manager. But due to not having a second body, he was also not improving as quickly as he wanted to. His teachers were still complaining about his lack of femininity. 

“I don’t know what they mean,” the manager who had offered a water bottle to Daniel said. “You’re amazing just the way you are, Dani.”

“Thank you, Sir,” he said. I also don’t know what they mean by it. If they see me as a girl, shouldn’t anything I do automatically be feminine? 

“Well, if you need extra help with your practice, I could always open up one of the private practice rooms for you,” he said. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah. You seemed to be self-conscious in front of the other girls, so a private room might help you learn better.”

“Thank you so much, Sir!” he said. “Should I invite Lasol and Joy?”

“Oh, the room’s really only big enough for one or two people to practice,” he said. “I’ll have to come by and open it for you, too.”

“Hm… ” Daniel thought back to Lasol’s words. But, this was just the manager helping out a struggling trainee. And it would be rude to reject the offer. “Okay!”

“Then, I’ll see you tonight,” he said. 

That night, Daniel made his way to the private rooms that the manager mentioned. 

“Dani!” he said. Despite the late hour, the manager was still dressed in an expensive-looking suit. Daniel could smell a little bit of cologne wafting off of him. And was that a new ring?

“Hello, Sir. Thank you again for offering this.”

“Of course, of course,” he said, leading Daniel to one of the practice rooms in the very back. The area of the building they were in was deserted, and they had to flick lights on as they went. “It’s as much for me as it is for you.”

What a weird thing to say, Daniel thought, as the manager fiddled with his keys. With an “Aha!” the manager opened the door, gesturing for him to enter. 

Daniel walked in, but the room wasn’t a practice room; it was just a small office-looking area. “Sir? Is this the right — ” A body came up behind Daniel. He heard the door close, and a chill went down his back. “Sir?”

“Hm?” the manager asked, moving his body even closer to Daniel’s. Daniel turned around, coming face-to -face with the manager. The room, dark as it was, barely illuminated his face. He took a few steps backwards, before hitting a wall.

“What are you… ” He looked down, and saw that the man had a hand over his crotch. 

“You can’t seriously be that naive,” he said. Then, looking at Daniel’s stricken face, he smiled. “You are! Oh, that’s so precious. I guess there really are still innocent girls in this world.”

Daniel could feel his body growing simultaneously hot and cold. “Sir. This is illegal. I’ll report — ”

“You think they’ll believe you?” the manager asked, laughing. “Please. You’re just one of hundreds of trainees PTJ’s had before. You’re not even in Class A!”

“You can’t just… ” he started, but his throat was closing up. 

Would they believe him? He was hardly the darling trainee that he had been beforehand and if Aru, the very biggest idol at PTJ, could be exploited… 

“Just sit back and enjoy this, honey,” he said, licking his lips. “And I won’t say anything about how sluttish you are. I mean, really, it wouldn’t be so surprising that a bitch like you slept your way to the top, now would it?”

It felt like he was back in that moment in Club Vivi, when he had been knocked out by Xiaolung and he was desperately trying to wake up before his original body got killed, or like when his stalker had managed to capture him. His body wasn’t his own; it had been turned into an object to be used by others. 

He should’ve been able to fight back. He was stronger than this manager. But even though he wasn’t tied up, Daniel’s body had frozen. He felt trapped against the wall. The manager’s hands started to roam over his body, seeking out every exposed part of skin.

“Ha, your skin is so perfect… ” The manager leaned in, and Daniel instinctively flinched back, hitting his head on the wall. “What I wouldn’t give to see you bathe… ” 

The man sniffed at Daniel’s neck. He felt like puking. “Please — ”

“Mmmm… ” the manager groaned, palming at his crotch. He started to unbutton his pants. “Come on, keep saying that, ha… ” 

Daniel closed his eyes as the manager started to reach out to untie his clothes. But the touch never came.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

It was Lasol.

Daniel opened his eyes, and saw that Lasol had grabbed the manager’s hand. His face, previously twisted in perverted pleasure, had become ashen. “Wait, this isn’t what it — ”

“Isn’t it?” she asked. The manager ripped his hand from her grip and stood, hastily buttoning his pants back up.

“You, you,” he stammered. “Don’t think this means anything. If I wanted, I could easily have all of you thrown away, like that!”

“You’d need a good reason, though,” Lasol said, stepping towards him. “Even if Aru keeps me in Class C, I’m too good for PTJ to get rid of.”

“Sure,” he said, “but she isn’t. How will it look when it comes out that she tried to fuck a manager to help herself debut faster?” 

Lasol pursed her lips. “Just get out,” she said. “And… we’ll pretend this never happened.”

So, the manager hobbled away. Lasol kneeled down next to Daniel. “Dani… ” She reached a hesitant hand out, then put it back down. 

Daniel bit his lip. “So, he’ll just get away with it?” he asked. Lasol nodded. “How… how often does that happen?”

“A lot,” Lasol said. She opened her mouth to say something else, then closed it. 

“How’d you know I was here?” he asked. 

“I called her,” a voice said, and Joy was standing in the hallway, clutching her phone. “I decided to try and find a private place to practice, since I’ve been so behind in class, and then I saw him enter the room with you… Unnie, I’m so, so sorry,” Joy said. Her eyes were thick with tears, and she started to hiccup. “If I had just been faster… Or if I had confronted him myself… ”

“No,” Daniel said, voice hollow. “You did good, grabbing Lasol. I… I wouldn’t have wanted you to be in danger, too.”

“You did exactly what you should have, Joy,” Lasol said. She put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing slightly. “I’m proud of you. Both of you.” 

Lasol led them to one of the group practice rooms, grabbing them all a bowl of instant ramen from the vending machine on the way. The three of them sat like that, huddled together in the abandoned training room, for the rest of the night. None of them could find it in themselves to close their eyes to sleep.

Daniel wanted to quit, after that. 

But he still needed to take down Aru’s “boyfriend.” 

“I overheard a conversation,” he said. “We need to rescue Aru.” And, just like last time, Lasol and Oliver agreed. But Daniel had convinced Duke and Joy to stay back.

“Shouldn’t we bring someone else along?” Oliver asked. “Her boyfriend — or, that man — he’s a gangster.”

“We won’t need them,” Daniel said. “I’ll… ” 

But his hands shook just thinking about what they were going to try and make Aru do. 

If I bring Vasco again, I don’t think it’ll put him in danger… 

“Actually, I have someone who can help.”

Daniel hadn’t even needed to tell Vasco the whole story. Just mentioning that he knew someone was being exploited was enough for the other to accept to help. 

So, the four of them walked into the warehouse just before Aru was forced to strip. It all went down similarly to before, with Lasol revealing the recording, Gun and Goo arriving, and Crystal, Charles Choi, and DG arriving to reveal that they bought out all of the shares.

Seeing Aru, kneeling on the floor, clutching at the jacket to cover her form up, Daniel realized that she was a victim, too. No matter how rude and condescending she was. He couldn’t help but see her as Like What or So Funny, sitting on the bed in Hostel A’s rundown apartment, or like himself in that room.

As the authorities began to arrest the gangsters, Daniel still called out to DG. He was expecting the man to brush him off like last time, but surprisingly, he agreed to talk. 

“I only have a minute,” he said. They were outside the warehouse, standing slightly away from others. “But I was interested in your audition.”

“I wanted to ask you something,” he said. 

“It’s a bit tricky right now,” DG said. His eyes kept flicking back towards the limousine that Charles Choi was waiting in. “But… be quick.”

Daniel thought about what he should say. Something about the four crews? About James Lee or the first-generation? Or about the mystery of the second body, which he had never actually discovered in his past life.

But what ended up coming out of his mouth was… 

“Could you fire someone?”

And so ended Daniel’s second foray into idolhood. He wasn’t that sad to see it go.

“Did you hear?”

“Oh, yeah, it’s been all over Tweeter.”

“Crazy! I had no idea she was such a slut.”

“I mean, come on, wasn’t she seen with Jay Hong? Isn’t he, like, seriously rich?”

“Ha, she’s been sleeping her way to the top since she got here!”

“Do you think if I pay her enough… ”

Daniel’s first day back to school was filled with murmurs that he didn’t understand. Unlike last time, when Zoe and Mira excitedly asked if he knew anything about the Aru rumors, his two friends seemed intent on talking about anything other than idols. 

“Did something big happen?” he asked, as they entered their classroom. “Everyone seems to be talking about something.”

“It’s nothing,” Mira said. “Don’t worry about it!”

“It doesn’t matter,” Zoe said. “It’s just a bunch of idiots gossipping. It’ll die down.”

But it didn’t seem to die down. If anything, it got worse.

“Look at her, smiling at anything with a dick… ”

“Ugh, I knew she wasn’t all that.”

“Should we teach her a lesson?”

It seemed like most of his friends had taken to arriving to school before him. When he got there, they were already sitting at their desks. His own seemed to be suspiciously cleaner every morning.

They also seemed to have taken turns walking him between places. Oh, Dani wanted to go to the dance and vocal department to visit Duke? Zoe wanted to check out the school’s flutes because she was thinking of picking up an instrument. Dani wanted to stop by the vending machine real quick? Mira also wanted a snack even though she had sworn off junk food the day before. And Jay took it upon himself to drive Daniel to and from home on his motorcycle every single day. 

They wouldn’t even let him go to the bathroom alone. One of them always made an excuse about needing to visit the teacher’s lounge, where Daniel always went to the bathroom (at Mr. Yoon’s special request). But they would only end up standing outside the door, glaring at anyone who passed by.

Even Zack, who Daniel wasn’t that close to yet (a consequence of not beating him up on the first day, he supposed), had been hovering over him. His fists looked strangely raw lately, but Mira hadn’t admonished him about it.

But, just like it appeared, it seemed to vanish after a few weeks. 

“Did you see what DG posted?”

“Yeah, can you believe someone actually lied about that?”

“It’s so screwed up.”

“I just feel bad for Dani.”

“But, I mean, do you think there’s a reason DG himself made the post, instead of PTJ’s official Tweeter?”

“You don’t think… ”

“Oh, come on. You don’t want Zack Lee to beat your ass again, right? Just let it go, man.”

“Hm. I guess.”

“Well, it’s whatever. I never thought Dani Park would do that, anyway.”

Just like that, their first year of high school ended. And Daniel was, yet again, reminded of something he forgot about.

“Class, we have a new transfer student, so please be kind to him… ” 

Logan Lee didn’t expect Seoul to be so… boring. His classmates might as well have been sheep for how boring they were. Classes were a snooze fest. He even got into a few fights, but they had been easy to take care of.

He was making his way to the cafeteria, wondering about who he should mess with next, when he accidentally bumped into a hot girl. He turned and opened his mouth to tell her to be careful, but she had already sidled up to… 

The hottest girl Logan had ever seen before. The likes of his cheating middle school girlfriends couldn’t even compare. 

(There was also the girl he had dumped food over, but he wasn’t even registering her presence.)

“Dani!” the girl who bumped into him said. “What are you doing over here?”

“Just waiting for Duke,” the goddess said. 

“I’ll wait with you two,” the girl said. They started to chit chat as Logan stood still in the hallway, just watching them. People passed by and gave him strange looks, but were scared away by the glimpses of tattoos. 

“Is he staring at Dani Park?” a sheep whispered, hurriedly passing by with his head down.

Dani Park… What a cute name.

“I’ll text him to see where he’s at,” the angel said. She pulled out her phone, and Logan could just make out her phone homescreen.

What’s she… Logan’s eyes widened. Pikachu?

Because, as Dani Park opened her phone, her wallpaper was a photo of the boy Logan Lee had tormented for years (plus his decrepit mother, who had yelled at him that one time). Why does she have a photo of Pikachu? Does she maybe… 

“Who’s that, Dani?” the hotter of her friends asked. 

“Oh,” she said. “One of my relatives.”

Of course, Logan Lee thought. Women like her were all the same. 

“Oh, hi!” Dani shouted, waving a hand out. Logan turned to see where she was pointing, following it to… 

A pig?!

“Hi, Dani,” the pig said. Dani came up next to him, smiling all sweet. “I haven’t seen you since the new school year started! How are you? How was your break?”

“Oh, it was pretty boring,” Dani said. She started to walk away with Duke and her friends, chatting about their breaks. 

“Was that Dani Park and Duke Pyeon?”

“Awe, Dani’s so sweet for hanging out with him… ”

“Are you kidding? Duke’s, like, a super popular streamer right now! Plus he’s a part of PTJ.”

“Seriously?”

“They performed at the school festival last year, right? Do you think that maybe they’re… ”

“Well, if it’s Duke Pyeon, I could kinda see it.”

Could it be? Logan thought. He was back in class, although he couldn’t remember making his way there. Does Dani Park… like piggies?

He went through the rest of the day in a daze, until the end of school came. 

Women like her… All they care about is looks, right? Then why would she hang out with that ugly piggy… 

As he walked out of J-High, he saw Dani Park walking with… 

Who the hell is that asshole?

The other dude’s hair was blond — probably a shitty dye job — and covered his eyes. His clothes were all designer, and Dani was leaning into his space while what was visible of his face was flushed. The blond asshole led Dani to a bright red motorcycle, handing her a helmet. They climbed on, with Dani’s dainty hands wrapped around the blond’s waist.

Logan clenched his hands. 

Of course, he thought. They’re all the same. 

And so, Logan Lee disappeared from school for weeks. And, once his self-proclaimed partner dragged him out of his stupor, he had become… 

Handsome.

The other men started to look at him in jealousy, rather than fear. The women were batting their eyelashes and swooning at his insults. The only problem? He was nowhere near as strong as he used to be.

After touching the girl piggy, the girl who had bumped into him swatted his hand away from her, yelling at him to go away. He had been ready to slap her away, but then saw that behind her, Dani Park was staring at him for the first time. The girl was still ranting at him, but Logan only had eyes for Dani.

Her plump, rosy lips were open in shock. Is it my face? Has she fallen for this new body? 

“Logan Lee?” she asked. 

She knows my name! Logan thought. She must have noticed me… even in this form. I knew it, we’re meant to be.

“Can I get your number?” he asked. In this new body… 

“No,” she said. Ah, then she must really like piggies —  “You’re a bully, Logan Lee. Go away.” 

Logan was struck with the realization that, even in his new body, she was able to see past his outward appearance. 

Logan stood still as Dani’s ranting friend, sick of him not reacting, pushed him out of class. But once they got to the doorway, he put his hands out, clutching the frame. “Should I go back to being a piggy, then?” he asked, desperate. The fashion department class were confused by his question, but Dani Park only pursed her lips.

“Don’t blame your body for that shitty personality of yours… ” she said, glaring at him. “Blame yourself.” The afternoon rays illuminated her from the back, casting a celestial glow over her. She turned away from him as her friend finally managed to push him out of the class, slamming the door shut.

“Don’t fret, Boss!” the sheep follower said. “Dani Park’s known for being an sl — ” His fist, although nowhere near as strong as it used to be, instinctively came out to hit the sheep’s nose, causing him to double over. 

Logan Lee fell to his knees, stupefied. Seoul had been nothing like he expected. People were handsomer than he was, meaner than he was, and punched harder than he could. But there was one thing that Seoul had.

Women like Dani Park.

That day, Logan Lee fell capital L in Love.

Chapter Text

Their class picnic was at Lotte World again.

Unlike many of the shenanigans that he and his friends did previously, Daniel vividly remembered Lotte World. It had been the location of a lot of his first times, from taking a group photo to riding amusement park attractions to… the mission from DG. 

Will I be able to talk to him this time? he wondered. I got called up to the stage before, but would DG ask a “girl” to dance with Inspirit?

He didn’t really have a better way to contact him, unless he wanted to ask for Little Crystal to contact her sister. But Daniel wasn’t keen on bringing the Choi siblings into it. 

Ah, well. I still have a few backup plans if he doesn’t…

And I might as well enjoy this little break.

Their friend group ended up recreating the same photos from last time, with Daniel and Jay still having matching ears.

“Ah, so cute!” Mira said, picking up the copies that were printing. 

“Dani, I bought you a new headband. I thought you’d like to switch it up!” Zoe said, offering a matching bow to her own. She glared at their blond friend, who was wearing the patterned cat ears that Dani had. 

“…!” 

“Thanks, Zoe, but I couldn’t let you pay for it!” he said. Zoe immediately slumped down. 

“But I want to match… ”

The group started to walk away from the photo booth, and this time, Daniel made sure to keep a good eye on Jiho’s whereabouts. 

“You’ve picked boxing back up, right, Zack?” Daniel asked, as they waited in line for a ride. “Mira said that you suddenly went back.”

“That’s right,” he said. Despite not going through as many losses this time, Zack had started to truly change into the man Daniel knew he would become. Maybe it was feeling unable to protect Mira from Logan again, or whatever had been bothering his friends at the end of last year, but he seemed motivated even earlier in this life.

Of course, Daniel was intent on making sure he never had to use it for anything other than petty fights.

“Dani, sit next to me on the ride!” Zoe said, grabbing his arm tightly. Behind his back, she shot a glare towards Zack, he just raised an eyebrow in response. 

“Sure, Zoe,” he said. “Hey, Jay, do you want to sit in our row, too?” The rollercoaster they were waiting for had room for three people per row, after all. Jay nodded, then titled his head. “Hm? Oh, I figured Zack wanted to sit next to Mira, right?”

“No fair, I want to sit next to Dani-unnie!” Joy said. She was tagging along with them again, and seemed particularly protective over Daniel lately. Kind of like Zoe, but she was a lot less handsy. 

“We can sit together for the next ride,” Daniel said, turning to talk to Zack some more. Beside him, Zoe, Jay, and Joy all exchanged vicious stares with each other.

After going on a few rides, they made their way to the food stalls. Mira and Zack headed off to a different stall, with the rest of the group standing in line for the bibimbap stand. 

“Hey,” Joy said, looking over to where Mira and Zack were talking in line. “Unnie, do you… ”

“Hm?” he asked, staring up at the menu. Geez, these amusement park prices are insane… 

Joy leaned in to whisper into his ear, with Zoe, Jiho, and Jay all trying to listen in. “Do you like Zack?”

“Huh?” Jiho said, mouth dropping open. “You like Zack?” The rest of the group reacted similarly. 

“Huh?” Daniel backed away from her, eyes wide. “Wha — No, of course not! Zack and Mira are dating, aren’t they?”

“Hm… ” Joy tapped her chin. “That doesn’t mean you can’t like him, though!”

“That’s not — He’s like a brother to me!”

“You know, that’s not a no,” Jiho said.

“Is it true, then?” Zoe asked, eyes ablaze. 

“…?”

“No, no, of course not,” he said. 

“When you first transferred, you kept glancing at him… ” Zoe said. 

“That was because it was a new school and I didn’t have any friends!”

“You were also disappointed that he didn’t think you could fight!” she accused.

“That’s just because — ” 

“And you were asking about his boxing progress! Ah, do you maybe wanna see him working out?” Joy asked. She glanced at her brother, whose face had quickly gone serious. “Erm, but I’m sure you prefer guys who are blond, right? Hey, don’t mess up my hair, Jay!”

His friends continued to bicker in front of him when he noticed Crystal sitting alone on a nearby bench. Right, I forgot…

“Hey, could you order the beef bibimbap combo for me?” he asked, handing Zoe the money. 

“Huh? Hey, Dani, what are you… ” But Daniel was already walking over to Crystal. “Oh.” You wanted to talk to Crystal, huh?

For some reason, Zoe felt a pit in her stomach. Ugh, it’s not like you’re Dani’s only friend! she told herself. Obviously, she’s so cool that other people want to hang out with her. You’re just… 

One of her many friends.

“Joy?” a voice asked. Their group looked over to its owner, and saw a moderately handsome man walk over, dressed in a suit. A year ago, Zoe would’ve jumped at the chance to flirt with an obviously rich boy. But… 

She glanced over to where Crystal and Dani were talking.

“Oppa?” Joy said. “What are you doing here?”

“One of my business partners is officially launching her new venture,” he said. “I didn’t realize your little class would be here for a school trip. Are these… ” He looked around at the group, eyes lingering on Zoe and passing right over Jiho. “Your friends?”

“Yep!” Joy said. “Plus them.” She pointed over to Zack and Mira and then to Crystal and Dani. Kitae followed her finger, and his eyes widened when he saw Dani.

“Hey,” he said, grinning. “Do you think you could get me her num — ”

“!” Kitae turned to Jay, who grabbed his arm. He tried to escape the blond’s grip, but it was strong. 

“Oh?” he asked. “You’ve never… ” He glanced at Joy, who was avoiding his gaze. His eyes narrowed. “Ah. I think I get it.”

“No, you don’t,” Joy said. “Hey, let’s go eat together, yeah?” She turned to the group. “I’ll catch you guys in a bit! Just text me when you’re done eating.” She separated her two brothers, tugging on Kitae’s arm. “Come on.”

“You’ve changed, Jay,” he said. “I wonder how our father will react.”

“Come on, Kitae, don't be rude,” Joy said. “Dani and Jay are just friends. Let’s go.” Kitae nodded, eyes only leaving Jay’s once they turned the corner.

“What was that all about?” Zoe asked, but Jay stayed silent, like always.

Finally, it was time for the opening of CrystalTV. And more importantly, for Daniel to officially catch DG’s eye.

Standing in the crowd like before, Daniel heard the same spiel about the Inspirit member who got injured when on a variety show. His hands were clenched in anticipation as his friends went crazy when DG appeared. 

“Dani Park,” he said, pointing to him in the crowd. 

I wonder how he knew exactly where I was? Daniel thought, as Zoe and Mira eagerly tugged on his shirt.

“Come up here. You still remember the moves from training, right?”

Finally, he thought.

The performance was a hit, of course. Oliver and the rest of Inspirit were excited to see him again, and afterwards he made Daniel promise to meet up with Lasol and him soon. 

But, he wasn’t here for him.

Daniel looked past Oliver to DG, who still had his iconic pink hair. Despite the sunglasses, Daniel knew he was looking straight at him.

This is it. 

He opened his mouth to say something, only to pause when DG started to get out of the car. Huh?

“Daniel Park,” the first-generation legend said. “Let’s talk.” 

The rest of Inspirit shared looks but stayed silent as DG’s manager, who Daniel had seen a few times, brought them to a secluded area of Lotte World. 

This definitely didn’t happen before.

“What is it?” Daniel asked. 

“You… ” DG looked at her, taking off his sunglasses. “You look just like her, you know.”

“Huh?”

“Like your mother,” he said. 

“Like my mother?” he repeated, stupidly. Whatever he was expecting DG to say, it wasn’t that. 

DG nodded. “Especially when you smile.”

Daniel was used to being compared to his father. Nobody had ever told him that he looked like this mother. For some reason, it made him feel warm inside, but there were more pressing matters to think about.

“You know my mother?” he asked. He clenched his hands, attempting to conceal the worry rising in him.

“I owe her a favor,” DG answered. “Actually, I owe her a lot more than that. I made sure you were accepted into PTJ even after rejecting us originally, but you passed the audition all on your own. You were a very good talent.”

“Thanks,” he said, thoughts racing. James Lee owes Mom a favor? Why? He never mentioned this before.

“Although that eventually ended up not so well,” he said, and Daniel at first thought he was referring to the Aru incident, until realizing that he probably meant…  

“Thanks, for that,” he said, voice small. He felt a little sick at the thought that DG probably knew what happened, and the reason that he had requested the manager to be fired.

“It shouldn’t have been needed in the first place,” DG said. “If we had been paying more attention.”

“Still,” Daniel said. “I was lucky that you did something in the first place. Most of the other female trainees… ” He thought back to Lasol, rejecting a man and finding herself unable to debut. How many others were there, who didn’t have the option of telling someone what happened?

DG pursed his lips. “You’re right,” he said. “But, I brought you here to tell you something else.”

Finally.

DG walked up and put a hand on Dani’s shoulder. He felt a piece of paper slide into his front pocket. “You need to stay away from Charles Choi.”

What?

“What?” he asked, but DG started to walk away, back towards the limousine. “DG, what do you — ”

“Call me if you run into him,” he said. Daniel looked down at the paper, which had his phone number on it. “Or if you run into the Four Crews.”

His manager stopped Daniel from continuing to follow him as he entered the limo. 

Daniel stood there for a second, watching it drive away, before slowly making his way back to his friends.

What makes our conversation so different from before? Is it your connection to my mother? Or… 

He looked back down at DG’s number. 

Is it because you see me as a woman?

He crumpled the paper and threw it into a nearby trash can.

For the first time since they started sparring together a year ago, Daniel had convinced Johan to go on a run together. 

“Come on,” he said. “Unless you’re scared of losing a race to me?”

The first (and last) time they raced, Johan had just barely beaten him. But this time, both of them were stronger due to their sparring and individual training. Daniel was eager to see if he could beat Johan in his original body, even if his legs were quite a bit shorter now. 

Enu and Eden, who both understood the word “run,” started to bark. Daniel and Johan had started to bring their dogs to their sparring session for a little bit of socialization, and Daniel shot a grin at Johan, as though to say See? Eden thinks it’s a good idea!

So they started off on a quick run alongside their dogs, but it quickly got more competitive than Enu or Eden could keep up with. 

“We should tie them up,” Johan said, but Daniel was reminded of the original way they met and became friends. He looked around, but he couldn’t remember if it was the same spot where Enu and Eden had originally been kidnapped.

“Not here,” he said. “Is there a cafe that could watch them for us?”

And so Johan and Daniel found a nice cafe employee who was willing to watch their dogs as they quickly raced each other. Like last time, they ended up panting on a patch of grass, but Daniel had easily beaten Johan’s speed. 

I know I shouldn’t be so competitive with a Johan who’s only been training for a few years, Daniel thought, But isn’t this the first time I’ve truly beaten him?

“That,” Johan said, “was a good race.”

“Thanks,” Daniel said. 

“How’d you get so strong, Dani?” he asked. He was looking up at the setting sky.

“Because I needed to protect people.”

“I get that. What about your family?”

“I’ve got my mom,” Daniel said. “But… ” He thought back to his friends in his past life. Had they survived the fight? Did they find his body? Or maybe his killer managed to cover it up so well that they buried an empty casket. “I lost a lot of people, about a year and a half ago.”

Daniel saw Johan turn to look at him from the corner of his eye. “All I have is Eden and…” He paused. “And my mom. So I’m sorry for your losses.”

“Don’t be,” he said. He brought a hand up to the sky, gazing at his callouses. In his second body, his hands were always perfectly smooth, as though he had never worked a day in his life. “I won’t let it happen again.” He clenched his fists.

They lay like that for a while, just staring up at the sky. Finally, they got up to retrieve their dogs.

Except. 

“Where the fuck is Eden,” Johan said, pushing the trembling cafe employee up against the counter. Daniel stood behind him, equally as pissed. 

“I-I thought your mother came by to grab them?”

“What?” Daniel asked. “A woman took them?”

“Y-Yes,” the employee said. “She went that way!” They pointed outside. Johan immediately dropped her and started to run, with Daniel following close behind.

As they ran through the neighborhood, Johan started to stop by different houses, but Daniel kept running.

Yes, this street… I remember it! 

Quickly, he ran up to where he knew the animal abuser was. Johan, confused, ran after him.

“Dani? Where are you going?”

“Just trust me!” he yelled back. He quickly dialed the police on his phone. 

“Hello?” a bored voice asked, stifling a yawn. “How can we help you?”

“There’s been destruction of private property,” he said, coming to a stop. He twisted his head around, searching for… 

There. 

“Where at?”

Daniel glanced at the street address, rattling it off as he climbed up the apartment’s stairs. He came to a stop, hearing dogs barking and whimpering inside. The stench was nearly unbearable. “It’s in Apartment 202.”

And so, just like last time, he forced the door open. It seemed like the dog abuser wasn’t home, and the dogs immediately started to stream out, with Enu going straight to Daniel. 

Johan finally made his way up the stairs himself, panting slightly. Eden came up to him, jumping up against his legs. “How’d you know — ” he stopped himself. “Where did you learn that?”

It was a question Johan had taken to asking Daniel after every spar. This time, he must have been referring to the door-opening technique. 

“In another life,” he would answer, which always made Johan scoff. 

Except this time, he just nodded. “I guess I owe you, Dani Park.”

Daniel knew where this was going. Johan turned around, revealing the God Dog jacket he just put on, with the former K-House members alongside him. “If you need anything, just come to Nowon. We might be bad guys, but we always pay back our debts. A true God Dog never bites his friends!”

After the fiasco with the animal abuser, it was time for Chuseok. Daniel was both excited and nervous. After all, there was only one other person (who was still sane) who would be able to help him understand the connection James Lee had with him. 

His mother.

But the last time Daniel had asked about anything involving crews, she had said the same exact thing as DG did. “Stay away from Charles Choi.”

It’s too late for that, Daniel thought. I don’t want to worry her like before, but… I need answers.

Surely James Lee isn’t another long-lost relative… No, he would’ve said something in our past lives. 

So, while they were cooking the feast the night before they were going to head off to his grandma’s house (Daniel had finally convinced her to let him help in the kitchen, citing that it was good cooking practice), he asked her. 

“Mom,” he said, cutting a few carrots. His mother was to his left, checking the timer.  “Did you happen to know someone named James Lee?”

“James Lee?” She tilted her head. “No, I don’t think I’ve ever met him. Why?” Inwardly, Daniel sighed in relief.

“No reason,” he said, sliding the carrots into the broth. “I just thought… nevermind.”

“Oh! Is he… ” She raised her eyebrows. “… Of interest?”

Even for the oblivious Daniel, his mother’s insinuation was obvious. “What? No! He just… He seemed to recognize me because I look like you.”

“Well, I am getting a bit old,” she said. “So I might’ve met him and not known. Do you have a photo?” 

“Er, only a recent one. Apparently he looked a lot different when he was younger.”

“Well, let me see.”

Daniel quickly searched up “DG photos” on his phone, then had to spend a few seconds finding a non-suggestive one. “Here,” he said, showing it to her. His mom took his phone from him, squinting her eyes. She moved it far away from herself.

“Oh!” she said. “How handsome! But I think I would’ve remembered someone who looked like him.” She handed the phone back. “You have good taste, Daniel.” She winked.

“Mom! I told you, it’s not… ” But she was ignoring his excuses, humming the same melody that Daniel auditioned with. “Mom!”

The next morning, they were on the bus to the countryside. Like before, his mother was sleeping soundly in her chair, the man with toe socks still had bad manners, a woman was halfway in the aisle as she slept, and a baby wouldn’t stop crying.

Some things never change.

“Oh, I can’t let you carry all of that, Daniel!” his mom said, but he had already snatched up all of their luggage and bags. “Daniel, listen to your mother.”

“Sorry, Mom,” he said, grinning. 

“Honestly… ” she said, but Daniel could see the pleased tilt to her lips. “You’ve really grown up.” She was wearing an outfit that Daniel bought her. She had almost declined wearing it, stating that it was too precious, until Daniel revealed that he had bought a similar one and wanted to match.

They made their way up to his grandmother’s house, passing by the tied-up Coco. I’m sorry, girl, Daniel thought.

Once they reached the gate of the house, they could hear Daniel’s uncles and aunts talking loudly. “Ugh, when’s Daniel’s mother going to get here?”

“They better not be late. I’m getting hungry!”

Ugh. I still hate visiting my relatives.  

Even though Daniel started to get along with his cousins, he still couldn’t find it in himself to enjoy his aunts and uncles. Dylan, David, and Sarah were just kids, but his other relatives had no excuse for their shitty behavior.

“Sorry we’re a little late,” his mother said, opening up the gate.

“Ah, we just got here,” one of his aunts said. “Where’s — ” She paused, mouth hanging open. 

“Hi everyone,” Daniel said, bowing. He set their gifts and luggage off to the side, as his relatives all stared at him.

“Is that Daniel?”

“Wow, I didn’t recognize him at all!”

“Well, he still doesn’t look nearly as good as… ” His uncle turned to where Dylan was standing, then back to Daniel. “Hmph.”

“Daniel, it looks like you’ve cleaned up,” Dylan said. 

“Oh. My. God.” Sarah said. She was frantically looking between whatever was on her phone and Daniel. “No way.”

“Mom,” Daniel said, coming over to stand next to her. “I’ll help you get started with dinner.” 

His relatives all looked between them, with their matching brand-name outfits, as they headed into the house.

“Ah, Daniel, you should be out there with your cousins!” his mom said, attempting to push him back out. But Daniel wouldn’t budge.

“I told you,” he said. “I need the practice.”

So they spent a few hours cooking up dinner, as his relatives all lounged around in the other rooms. When dinner was served, his youngest aunt tried to give his mother money, but Daniel declined it instead. “It’s no trouble,” he said. “I have a nice job now, so consider it my gift to you all.”

“Ah, a gift… ” his aunt stammered. “Right.”

His mother looked up at him in pride as they all sat down to eat.

The conversation was similar to before, although Daniel felt Sarah’s eyes on him the whole time. Even while eating, she was addicted to her phone. 

“How’s university, David?”

“Ah, easy, of course.”

“My David’s such a heartbreaker! Show them all your friends, son.”

“Well, Dylan’s been practicing his rapping. Isn’t that right?”

“Dad, how did you… ”

“We could hear you through the walls, of course! Ha, you’ll be the next G-Lizard.”

“You mean G-Dragon, Dad… ”

“What about you, Daniel? How has your new school been?” Eyes immediately turned to him. 

“Oh… It’s been good,” he said. “I’ve made a lot of friends.”

“Very nice, very nice,” David said. “If you need any tips on getting ladies, just let me know. I’m an expert!”

“Right, ha… ” Daniel remembered how badly that went last time, but didn’t have the heart to question David. 

The conversation went late into the night, and the next day their uncle killed the yearly pig. Unlike years before, Daniel didn’t look away when the pig was killed. He had seen far worse, after all.

As they sat around eating it, with Daniel helping his mother tend to the grill, his most problematic uncle seemed to have gotten even more drunk than the night before.

“Ah! Daniel, you might think you have a nice job now, but don’t go looking down on us!” he slurred. “You should be getting into a trade. A trade!”

“Yes, Uncle,” he said. He found it was easiest to deal with drunk people if you just agreed with them.

“You look all girly, now. You need a haircut. Look at Dylan and David’s hair!”

“Yes, Uncle.”

“Seonhui, what are you letting your son get away with, huh?”

Keep my mom’s name out of your mouth.

“It was my decision to grow my hair out, Uncle,” he said. His uncle grumbled cracking open another beer. Daniel thought that was the end of it and went to go sit back by his mother, but his uncle’s next words shocked him. 

“Are you a tranny?” his drunk uncle asked. Daniel’s mother’s grip on her tongs loosened. His uncles and aunts shared a glance, but said nothing. Dylan and David looked at him. 

“D-Dad,” Sarah said, mouth agape. “You can’t just say that!”

“Why not?” he slurred. “Ah, it’s ‘cause you let him go to that liberal arts school. You let him think he’s a woman. Next thing you know, he’ll be fucking another man!”

“Stop it.” His mother stood up. His family went silent. “Daniel, go take your cousins out to town. Use the pocket money your grandma gave you all.” He opened his mouth to say something, but the look on his mother’s face shut him up.

He and his cousins all went down to town, this time with Sarah. Dylan and David had started a conversation, trying to get Daniel to talk, but he was still thinking about his mom’s face. 

Mom… I don’t care what they say about me. But how can they act that way towards you? I know you want me to have guests at my wedding, but I have plenty of friends now.

Once they got to the street, Dylan urged David to go hit on the same sales girl before leaving to go to the arcade. But Daniel was too lost in thought to notice as Sarah led them to a rundown cafe. She waved a hand in front of his face. “Hello?”

“Ah,” he said. “Sorry, Sarah.”

“It’s… fine,” she said. She had a tight-lipped look. “Sorry about Uncle.”

“I don’t mind,” Daniel said. “I’m just worried about my mom.”

“It would be fine if you were, you know.”

“Sorry?” 

Sarah twisted her hair, looking down at the table. “If you were… like that. I saw your performance at Lotte World, with Inspirit. You looked super c-cool.”

“Oh… Thanks, Sarah.”

“Whatever,” she said. “I’m gonna go grab us something to drink.” She hurried off into the cafe. 

Daniel smiled down at his hands. At the least, it seemed like his cousins still had his back, no matter what. 

He started to scroll through his phone, until a shadow fell over his table. Daniel looked up, making eye contact with the guy who had taken him and his cousins’ money before. “Hey,” the boy said. “What’s a cutie like you doing around here?”

Daniel, who was already pissed about his aunts and uncles, was not in the mood for assholes to talk to him. “Go away,” he said, looking back down at his phone. A text came in from Jay.

Master Boxer Zack Lee: wat shud i get mira for hr bday

Master Boxer Zack Lee: its soon 

Master Boxer Zack Lee: did she menshon n e thing.

Master Boxer Zack Lee: got her a few things but idk if its enuf

“Is that your boyfriend?” 

Daniel paused, then looked back up at them. He sneered. “Fuck off.”

“You little — ”

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” Sarah yelled. She was holding two iced coffees in her hand, alongside a small pastry bag. “Get away from him!”

“Him?” the asshole asked. “Wait, you’re some kind of — ”

“Don’t you dare,” Sarah said. Just within a few seconds of seeing the situation, she had one-handedly grabbed her phone and started to record. “Or I’ll post this on Pacebook!”

“Gah!” one of the lackeys said. “My mom got angry at me for last time… ”

“Hyung, we should go, I can’t afford to get suspended again… ”

Their leader turned a deep crimson, turning on his heel and running away.

“Thanks,” Daniel said. “I could’ve handled them, though.”

“I hate guys like that,” she said, sitting down across from him. She passed one of the coffees and opened up the pastry bag, revealing four macarons. “I got one for each of us.”

Daniel smiled. Sarah might act like she hated her cousins, but she was just like the rest of them. They chatted until Dylan and David arrived, and then they all shared the macarons that Sarah bought them on the bus ride home.

When they got back to their grandmother’s house, it seemed like a huge argument had occurred. But this time, instead of his mother looking worried, she was standing tall. 

“You’re back,” David’s mother said. “How was it?” His cousins, sensing the tension, kept their conversation amicable. 

As they talked, Daniel walked over to their grandmother, offering her almonds. She smiled wide just like last time. 

“Thank you, Seonhui-ah,” she said. Coming back, Daniel had been concerned that she would mistake him for Jinyoung Park and attack him again, but instead, she had mistaken him for his mother. “That son of mine… He really chose the best wife. All the others were duds.”

Around him, his relatives’ jaws dropped, including his mother. 

Daniel’s smile was blinding. “I know, right?” 

Jiho was acting strange.

Daniel glanced at the boy, who was biting his nail while looking down at his phone. His actions reminded Daniel of how he acted before getting involved with God Dog’s fake bank account scam. 

But… hadn’t that been prevented?

Daniel had made sure to include Jiho in each and every one of their hangouts. He prevented the various other scams that he had gotten mixed up in. Unlike last time, he hadn’t been forced to take nude photos. 

But there was no denying it. He was acting suspiciously. Daniel was intent on asking him about it once the bell rang, but the boy ran straight to the bathroom, his phone clutched tightly in hand. She went to follow him, but bumped into a pissed-off looking boy who was stomping around. 

“Hey, watch where you’re — ” the boy’s eyes widened. “Ah. Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay,” Daniel said. “What’s the matter?”

“Oh, I’m just looking for this ass — I mean, a guy.”

“What’s his name? I might know it.”

“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. Hey, any chance you wanna catch a bite to eat?”

“Uh… ” Daniel tried to figure out a way to let him down gently, until Zack came up next to him. 

“Hey, who’s this?” he asked, eyes dark. The other guy, sensing he was outmatched, ran. “Weird.”

“Oh, hey, Zack,” Daniel said. “Have you noticed that Jiho’s been acting strange lately?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I was just about to ask him about it, actually, but he scurried away before I could catch him. I’ll try to ask him about it tonight, so don’t worry, Dani.”

“Well, alright… ”

Daniel did worry but, unlike last time, he didn’t get a text message from Zack asking them to meet up at the cyber cafe. He went off into an unrestful sleep, and woke to no messages about the situation. 

Jiho Park doesn’t appear at school for the next week. 

Zack tells Daniel he got the flu, and that’s why he was acting so out-of-character.

Maybe I was worried over nothing. 

Johan was getting better at fighting.

It was no surprise, really. He was a genius recognized by every single ally, enemy, and mentor he had. Unlike Daniel, he had been able to tap into his full potential without needing a second body. In the future, people would always bemoan Johan’s one weakness: his eyes. “He could’ve been the best,” they would say, “if not for those damn eyes.”

Daniel knew better. If it wasn’t for those eyes of his… He never would have been able to accomplish so much. When they worked, they helped him to adapt; and when they failed him, they helped him to overcome. The Johan that Daniel first met in the alleyway was strong, but not anywhere close to the peak he would reach.

This Johan was learning at an alarming rate from a person who was holding back their abilities.

Of course, Daniel was improving as well. 

A well-aimed kick ended Johan’s assault, sending him flying back. He quickly recovered, swiping at Daniel's feet with a kick. 

Daniel hopped over the kick, but had to quickly bring his hands up to block Johan’s uppercut. Grabbing onto his hand, he flipped himself upside down and sent both of them crashing into the ground.

Johan grabbed at Daniel’s legs, but the other was quicker, and swiftly grappled Johan into a leglock. The other tried to escape, but Daniel’s hold was too strong. 

Daniel’s alarm broke the fight. They slowly got to their feet, stretching slightly. Beside them, Enu and Eden eagerly got up, wagging their tails. It was break time, which meant treat time for the dogs.

“I still owe you,” Johan said. He had been surprised when Daniel requested to meet up again; after all, it would be hard to pretend like the God Dog crew wasn’t infamous in the area. But after their dogs were kidnapped, Daniel had simply texted him to see if they were still on for their weekly spar.

“And I told you, you don’t,” Daniel said. He sat down on the bench, chugging some water. “That animal abuser had also kidnapped Enu. I couldn’t let her get away with it.”

Johan stared at him. “Daniel… That move you used, the first time we met. You copied it from Gun, right?” 

Daniel almost choked on his water, but managed to simply cough instead. “Ah, sorry, went down the wrong pipe,” he said. “What’s this about a gun?”

“Don’t play dumb,” he said. “I’ve only seen one other person flip people with such ease. I could feel it. Did he send you?”

“I don’t know what — ”

“And with the animal abuser,” he continued, ignoring Daniel’s attempts to correct him. “You knew where to go before we had even found any evidence.”

“I had heard about the kidnappings that were happening recently, and based on the location I — ”

“And most importantly, you knew Eden’s name before I even mentioned her to you.” At that, Daniel had no come back. “Who are you, Daniel Park? Why did Gun send you? Is he dissatisfied with me?”

Daniel looked down at his hands. He rubbed the callouses. “Gun didn’t send me.”

“Bullshit.”

“But I did know who you were when we met. And I know why you started the God Dogs. You need money for your mother’s surgery, right? I know someone who can help. But I knew were weren’t just going to trust a stranger, so I — ”

“You lied to me?” he asked. He stood up, and their dogs, sensing the tension, started to bark. “And you keep lying. Are you someone from another crew? Who is it, Big Deal? But they don’t have any female members. Then, Workers?”

Daniel also stood, holding his hands out placatingly. “No, Johan, I’m telling the truth. I just want to help you and your mom. And, I’m friends with Zack and Mira, so they — ”

“Shut up!” he yelled. Their dogs stopped barking. Enu whimpered. “Don’t mention their names.”

“Johan, Jin Jang is running an illegal bank account scam right now. He’s planning on taking over your place! And Gun won’t keep you as a possible successor,” Daniel rambled.

But Johan wasn’t listening. He put the hood of his jacket up and grabbed Eden’s leash, turning to leave. Daniel stepped forward to stop him, but a hand slapped him away.

“Don’t follow me!” Johan yelled. “And don’t talk to me ever again.”

“What are you doing here?” they asked at the same time. 

Daniel and Zack were both standing outside the front door to Jiho’s house.

“Oh,” Daniel said. “I brought some soup for Jiho. It’s the recipe my mom uses when I’m sick.”

“Ah,” Zack says. “Right, he’s sick. Well, let’s go in, then.”

Daniel had talked to Jiho’s parents before. They had apologized on their hands and knees for their son’s actions, tears streaming down their faces. 

“Please, don’t hate our son,” they begged. “He’s a good boy, just misguided.”

Their faces had been gaunt and tired. They must’ve been tossing and turning at night, ridden with guilt over their son's actions. 

The woman in front of Zack and Daniel was plump and kind-looking. She gasped upon seeing the two of them at the door. “You’re here for Jiho?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Daniel said. “We’re friends from school. We heard he wasn’t feeling well, so I made some soup for him. It’s my mom’s recipe.” Zack grunted in agreement.

“Oh, how kind of you! I didn’t know Jiho had such well-mannered friends. Come, sit, sit, I’ll grab Jiho for you.” She gestured towards the living room, but Daniel shook his head.

“Ah, don’t worry about that, Ma’am, I’ll go up to him! He must be super tired right now.”

“You’re truly the sweetest! Alright.” She pointed towards Jiho’s bedroom. Zack and Daniel walked over, and they could hear quiet noises from inside. 

Daniel gently knocked.

“Jiho,” he said. “Zack and I are here! You’ve been out of school for a whole week. Your flu must be pretty bad, huh?”

No answer. 

Daniel went to knock again, but Zack stopped him. “He must be sleeping. We shouldn’t disturb him.” 

“But I swear I heard — ”

“Come on,” Zack said, not meeting Daniel’s eyes. “We should go.” He started to walk back to the door, but Daniel had already forced his way into the room.

“Jiho,” Daniel said. “We need to talk.” 

Jiho, who was lying on his floor, hastily tucked something into his pocket. “Um, Dani, this isn’t the best — ”

“Did you open a bank account recently?” he asked. 

Jiho looked up at him in surprise. How did she know?

“What do you mean?”

“There’s a bank account scam going on right now,” he said. “And yesterday, I ran into someone who said he was looking for someone.” 

Dong Choi! The guy that James Gong scammed!

Daniel leaned in close. Jiho could feel the other’s breath on his face. “Be honest. We can help.”

“Oh,” he said. In the doorway was Zack. Ah, he must’ve told her. He could feel his face flushing, but this time it wasn’t in excitement. It was in embarrassment. 

“Jiho, if you need help, we can — ”

“I — I don’t want some girl pitying me!” Jiho yelled. His breathing started to grow shallow. I’m not pathetic. I’m not pathetic. I’m not pathetic.  

“Jiho, please. I can — ”

“Shut up! What could a slut do, anyway? Just go away!” He pushed a shocked Daniel away, dodging Zack’s attempts to grab him as he ran from his room.

“Hey!” Zack called out. “Jiho, get your ass back here!”

Pity?

Daniel knew how that felt. When people would look down on his cheap clothes, his fat body, or his bad grades. 

“Dani, should we go after him?”

It may have been years since he was pitied, but the shame never left. It crawled under your skin like an infestation, creeping into every part of yourself until it had nowhere to go but outward. 

“What happened? I can’t believe our son would call a nice young lady like yourself such a horrid word! I’m terribly sorry for his bad manners.”

He still felt like a piggy, at times. Defenseless. Helpless. Performing in the bathroom. Falling from that building. Being trapped against a wall. 

“Dani, you stay here, I’ll try to catch up with — ”

“No,” Daniel said. “You stay here and call the police to the darts place. I’ll find him.”

And he took off running. 

He knew the way to the darts building well. How could he not? It had been his greatest regret, not saving Jiho Park. He had hoped that his actions would have changed something, but… 

I won’t let you go back to prison, Jiho. I’ll save you this time!

He rushed through the streets of Seoul, not caring about bumping into others. A few drunk people threw bottles at him, but he didn’t even bother to dodge them. 

All he could think about was catching up to Jiho. 

Finally, he got to the place where it all went wrong. In his last life, he would sometimes spend hours beneath its sign, just staring up at the window he had fallen from. 

This time, he didn’t even glance at the sign. He already knew it was the right building. He walked up the stairs two at a time, finally arriving at the room. He slammed open the door, seeing James Gong holding a pool stick above Jiho’s back. 

“Get away!” Daniel, faster than James could react, came up behind him and put him into a headlock. 

“Ah, fuck!”

“Dani?” Jiho asked, looking up. “How’re you — ”

“Just go, Jiho!” he yelled. 

“Why are you… ”

“We’re friends, Jiho! And friends help each other, so I’ll hold him off! Zack already called the police, so you can go!”

“The police?” James said, throwing his head back. “AH! Your little girlfriend is so sweet, Jiho! She made sure that you’d get arrested for assaulting me.” Jiho and Daniel’s eyes widened. They both looked towards the box cutter, which had undeniably been used to cut James’ forehead.

“I… I… ”

“Don’t listen to him, Jiho! I’ll tell the police that it was self-defense. Just go!” James attempted to free himself, but Daniel’s grip was tight. He could barely move a muscle.

Despite his words, Jiho was still staring at the box cutter. 

“Don’t look at me!” Jiho spat. “Don’t tell me what to do!”

“Jiho, please, don’t — ” But Jiho had already grabbed the box cutter.

“Don’t pity me, Dani Park!” He lunged forward, but Daniel kicked a foot out, causing it to slide into the corner. 

“Jiho, we can help you! Just trust your friends, okay? Zack’s on his way!”

“Friends?” Jiho said. “Don’t make fun of me!”

“Stop!” Zack had arrived at the doorway, breathing heavily. “Dani, how did you — ” His eyes widened.

Jiho had his arms outstretched, face contorted in self-loathing. 

James, with Daniel holding him from behind, were falling towards the glass window behind them. The street below was unaware of the chaos in the building above. 

Ah…  Daniel thought, as he fell backwards. 

Why?

With a twist, Daniel forced his body to move downwards rather than backwards. He brought his right hand out to stifle the fall, making him and James roll across the floor. 

They slammed against the wall, knocking the air out of Daniel’s lungs. 

“You crazy piece of shit!” Zack yelled. “What were you… ”

Suddenly, the room was flooded with policemen. “Hands in the air!” they yelled. Jiho, whose hands had fallen back to his side, didn’t seem to hear them. “We said hands in the air! Are you resisting arrest?”

Daniel lay on the floor as the police checked over him and James. 

Why, Jiho? Why? 

Daniel watched the police take Jiho away. Unlike last time, there wasn’t any police tape on the street, no broken glass or a comatose body.

Just rain.

Zack, who had just finished giving his statement, came up on his left, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Dani, are you okay?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, slapping away the hand. “That Jiho was being scammed?”

“I… ” Zack was at a loss for words. 

“I could have helped! He felt so, so, so lonely that he couldn’t come to us? I… ” 

“Why are you worrying about him? He just tried to push you out of a building!”

“Because he felt cornered!” Daniel yelled. He could feel his face getting hot. “He didn’t have any other option! James sold that damn bank account of his, so he — ”

“But we already fixed that,” Zack said. Daniel’s mouth shut. What? “I ran into him at a cafe, when he first confronted the scammer. Then I texted our friends to help him find the culprits, and Vasco ended up beating their asses.”

“You guys… ”

Zack sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Jiho begged me to not text you. He… He didn’t want you to know how pathetic he was. And then he goes and does this shit, of course. Look, Dani, it wasn’t personal, but I didn’t want him to — Dani?” Zack leaned down to look at Daniel’s face. “Hey, are you okay?”

Daniel heaved, then bent over, puking all over Zack’s clothes. A nearby EMT immediately rushed over, checking on Daniel. 

Zack didn’t say anything about ruining his clothes. Instead, he just rubbed Daniel’s back as he coughed. After a few seconds, Daniel finally stood back up, letting the EMT look him over.

“Dani, I… ” 

“I’m sorry,” a policeman said, coming up to them. He was holding a notepad. “I know it’s been a stressful day for you, but we need to take her statement while it’s fresh.” 

“Seriously? Can’t you see she was just — ” Daniel brought a hand out to stop Zack’s rant, extracting himself from the EMT.

“It’s okay, Zack,” he said. “I’ll do it.”

“Thank you, Miss,” the officer said. “Let’s get you out of the rain, yeah?” They moved inside into another billiards room. “Make yourself comfortable, I’ll have the detective come over.” 

Daniel nodded, looking down at the pool table that had become a makeshift desk. After a bit, a hot cup of coffee was passed over to him. “It’s from the vending machine,” the detective said, sitting down. 

Daniel accepted it with a nod.

“Okay, don’t feel pressured to say something if you don’t feel comfortable. But we do need to hear the whole story, so if you could — ”

“Jiho was acting in self-defense,” Daniel interrupted. “He was being bullied by James Gong. He accidentally pushed James. He didn’t mean any of it, he was just… just desperate.”

Even to Daniel’s ears, it sounded like pity.

The detective sighed, rubbing between his eyebrows.  “That’s not what the other two said.”

“What?”

“The boy you saved, James Gong, and your friend. They said that Jiho Park tried to shove you both out the window.”

“That’s — That’s not true!”

“Look, kid,” he said, turning his screen towards Daniel. It was security camera footage of the event. “We have full evidence that he pushed you two. I know he might have threatened you, but I promise that he can’t hurt you anymore.”

“Jiho didn’t threaten anyone!”

“Then what’s this?” And the policeman skipped to the moment that Jiho had turned the knife onto Daniel. He couldn’t find the words to refute the footage. That’s how it had happened, after all. 

The policeman put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“Then, what will happen to Jiho?” he asked. 

“Don’t you worry about a thing. It’s gotten a lot of press, especially since he tried to kill an innocent bystander, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up in juvie and then got transferred to a full prison.” The policeman clapped Daniel on the shoulder. “Come on, kid, it’s late. We’ll give you a ride back home.”

“No,” Daniel said. “That’s okay. I’ll just walk.”

Chapter Text

A bloodied Jin Jang laid at Johan’s feet for the second time. “I swear!” he yelled, coughing out blood. “He-he just came and attacked us for trying to recruit him. And I promised you, didn’t I? No more illegal shit!”

Johan stared down at him. The other God Dog members lined the room, blocking any way in or out. “The Burn Knuckles’ leader did this to you?”

“Yes!” Jin said. Five of his teeth were missing, so it sounded slurred. “That Tabasco guy! I thought he was strong, so I offered him a spot, but he refused.”

Dani had mentioned Vasco to him during their sparring sessions.

He looks scary, she had said, but he’s actually just a big sweetheart. He gets mistaken for a bad guy a lot, but he’s just a big teddy bear on the inside.

Johan didn’t enjoy it when Dani talked about her other friends. It wasn’t the same jealousy he had felt over Mira in middle school. It almost reminded him of his anger when Zack would protect him at school.

He wasn’t weak. He didn’t need to be coddled. He wanted to exist as a constant, strong thought in Dani’s mind, not some pitiful person to be texted once a week.

Zack hadn’t even considered him a rival, he was that pathetic. And Dani had been lying to him for over a year.

He looked down at the quivering Jin Jang, then around at his crew. They all had their eyes lowered to the ground. “You’re telling the truth? You’re not running a bank account scam?”

Jin nodded. “Just ask any of the others!” The rest of the crew all started to chime in, raising their heads in defense of Jin. 

“Yeah, Jin’s been telling the truth!”

“That Burn Knuckles guy just started to hit him out of nowhere!”

“I don’t even know how to open a bank account for myself, how would I get someone else to do it?”

Johan stared down at Jin’s beaten and bloody form. He finally stepped away. 

“Then it’s settled. Get ready to fight.”

Daniel would’ve skipped school, but he didn’t want to worry his mother if the school called her about it. 

The first day back, his class all went silent when he entered. It was nothing like when Daniel had returned to school last time, when he had been surrounded by his schoolmates and then paraded on the Burn Knuckles’ shoulders to class. This time, they all simply stared at him as Jay, who had driven him to school, walked him to his seat.

After a moment, the conversations started up again. His friends congregated around Daniel, but didn’t ask how he was doing, instead talking about the latest news or gossip. But Daniel couldn’t hear anything. All he could think about was the very empty seat that Jiho would never come back to fill.

Classes passed by in a blur. He ate lunch with his friends, who were all clearly ignoring Daniel’s shaky mood. When Zoe had opened her mouth to say something, a quick glance from Zack had her stopping. 

He knew he should be grateful for their concern. They were the same friends that he’d had for years now. He knew they would follow him through thick and thin. But… 

Are they so different towards me now, because they see me as a woman? Am I considered so weak that they have to protect me? 

What happened to not letting Jiho down again? He supposed that, like so many other promises in his life, was just all talk. 

A couple of weeks went by like that. His friends were walking on eggshells around him, even Jay and especially Zack, who had taken to threatening violence if anyone so much as breathed a word about Jiho’s situation. It was a pretty effective deterrent, at least in the fashion department.

Of course, one man couldn’t stem all the gossip.

“Do you think it’s true that he actually tried to murder her?”

“I’m not surprised, he always seemed a little off his rocker.”

“I mean he kinda had it coming, didn’t he? ”

“Yeah, he was just trying to leech off of other’s popularity. He looked like a little gofer next to them! You don’t think he honestly felt like one of them, right? I bet they just kept him around for shits and giggles.”

“Dude, do you think that’s why he got arrested?”

“Wasn’t it for attempted murder or some shit?”

“But I mean, wasn’t he with another guy at a billiards place? Why the hell would Dani Park be hanging out with a loser like him outside of school?”

“Wait, you don’t mean… ”

“I’m just saying, attempted murder is a longer sentence… and Dani Park’s pretty rich, I wouldn’t be surprised if she pulled some strings… ”

Even Daniel, who was normally oblivious to the rest of his schoolmates, had heard the rumors going around. He wanted to step up and say something, but was never quick enough.

“Hey,” Zack said, turning to where the practical music kids were whispering. “Don’t go talking about shit you know nothing about.”

“Yeah,” Zoe said. “It’s not like you were friends with Jiho, anyway, so just shut up.”

It seemed like the Jiho incident had a larger impact on Zoe and Zack this time around. Daniel wondered absently if that was a result of him not being asked to help find James Gong. 

“I think I’m gonna head home early today,” Daniel said, standing with his try.

“Ah, Dani… ” Zoe said, also standing. “I’ll walk with you.”

“…”

“No, I’m fine,” he said, waving off Zoe and Jay’s concern. “I just… I think I need to clear my head.” He started to walk away, already knowing that his friends were all shooting each other concerned glances. 

It seems that’s all he was trying to do these days. Clear his head. But when he would close his eyes, all he could see was Jiho’s face, full of self-hatred. 

He couldn’t even look at Daniel as he was being arrested. 

The next day, Jay drove Daniel to school again. His friend was clearly worried, but Daniel was growing accustomed to that. 

“Good morning Dani, Jay,” their friends greeted. 

“Are you feeling better, Dani?” Mira asked. 

“Yeah,” he said. “I think taking a half day helped.”

“I’m glad,” she said. Unlike their other friends, she hadn’t been coddling him (although, her normal attitude was rather motherly, so Daniel wasn’t sure if he even would’ve noticed if she had been). “I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with me and a friend later? We haven’t been able to go shopping in awhile, ever since the new school year started. If you’re still too tired, though, don’t worry!”

Daniel had been shrugging off his friends attempts at hanging out for the last couple of weeks. But, this was Mira… 

“Sure,” he said. “Who are we meeting with?”

“Oh, you might have seen her around,” she said. “I’ll send her contact info over to you. Her name’s Jasmine, Jasmine Huh.”

Jasmine.

Another name that Daniel had forgotten. 

“Yeah, I know her.”

As Mira and Daniel discussed their plans, Zoe, Jay, and Zack were all huddled together at Jay’s desk.

“Zack, what actually happened?” Zoe asked, staring over at Mira and Daniel. “I don’t think Jiho actually… ” 

“!” Jay’s hands came up in panic. 

“Of course not,” Zack said. “He… I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

“Do you think Dani will be okay?” she asked. “She’s been so depressed lately.”

“She’s stronger than that,” Zack said. 

“I know, but… ”

“I’ve been praying for Dani, too.”

“Yui?” Zack said. He, Jay, and Zoe all looked at Yui Kim, who had interjected from her seat. “I didn’t realize you and Dani were close.”

“Oh, not really,” she said. “But Zoe’s been telling me all about her situation. I just feel so worried, you know?”

“That’s nice,” Zack said, but his eyes were narrowed. “Though I feel like Zoe wouldn’t have — ”

“Ah,” Zoe interrupted, putting a hand on Zack’s arm. “Didn’t you need help with math, Zack? We have a test later.”

“Wait, seriously?” he said, looking at Zoe and Jay. They both nodded. “Shit, shit, shit… ”

“I’ll leave you to it, then,” Yui said. “Zoe, I’d love it if you could come shopping with us again tonight. I just loved our conversation from last time. We’re meeting in the school bathroom to freshen up before we head out.”

“Sure,” she said, looking down at Jay’s desk. “I’d love to.” Yui smiled, and turned back to talk to her friends.

Zack and Jay exchanged looks. “What was that about?”

“Oh, nothing,” she said. “Just… expanding my social circle. You’re not the only friends I have, you know!”

“I know,” he said. “But she seemed a little… ” Jay nodded, tilting his head in worry. 

“I’m really fine!” Zoe said, smiling wide. 

“Bullshit,” Zack replied. Both he and Jay stood up. “Your eyes are lying.” They started to move over to Yui’s desk, but Zoe’s hands came out to stop them. They turned back to her. Zoe’s head was pointed to the ground.

“Don’t… Don’t get involved, Zack, Jay. It’s girl business. No men allowed.”

“Then we’ll get Dani or Mira to — ”

“And ruin their plans?” she asked. Zack pursed his lips, but he and Jay sat back down.

“Promise you’ll tell them, though,” he said. 

“I will,” Zoe said, looking them straight in the eyes. “I promise.”

Staring at her, both Zack and Jay nodded. “I’ll keep you to that,” Zack said. “Women don’t like it when you break promises.”

“What do you — ” Zoe started, but Zack was already heading back to his seat. “Wait, Zack?” She turned to Jay. “Do you know what he meant by that?” But all Jay did was shrug.

Class started back up, and not for the first time, Zack and Daniel were lost in thought, although for very different reasons.

I shouldn’t get involved in more fights, Mira would be angry… And Zoe said it was women’s business… Then shouldn’t I tell Dani? Zoe’s annoyingly smart, but even she needs help sometimes… 

Were the thoughts going through Zack’s head.

Jasmine… She gets involved with Hostel, right? Then I need to take care of them… But I can’t let Gun find out about me yet. Or should I? Without Johan, I haven’t made as much progress… God, I need to figure out how to deal with God Dog, too. And keep Johan from disappearing again. But didn’t he already do that? Shit.

Were the thoughts going through Daniel’s head.

And so, that was how the two seatmates spent the rest of their afternoon classes. When the bell rang, they were still sitting, staring at twin pages of blank paper.

“Dani, are you ready to go?” Mira asked. 

“Ah,” Zack said, jumping up. “I’ll come too!”

“No way,” Mira said. 

“But, I can carry the bags!”

“Dani can too, you know,” she said. “And so can I and so can Jasmine.”

“Then, I’ll buy you guys dinner.”

“We can buy ourselves dinner, Zack.”

“I’ll, uh… ”

“I told you, it’s girl business!” Mira said, as Zack fell to his knees, despairing. “Come on, Dani.”

“Sure thing,” he said, standing. He felt his phone vibrate. “Ah, just a sec, let me… ” He turned on his phone, seeing four notifications pop up.

johan: Could we meet up?

johan: I want to talk.

johan: I’ll bring Eden.

johan: [Photo Attachment]

Daniel clicked on the photo, revealing an Eden with a very cute red bow on her head. Kneeling down next to her, with his head pushed up against Eden’s, was Johan. He looked solemn, but Daniel could tell that he was nervous by the way he was clutching Eden’s fur.

“Who’s that?” Mira asked, leaning over. Daniel pulled his phone to his chest. 

Zack pulled himself off the ground. “Mira, Zoe’s meeting with Yui in the girl’s bathroom right now.”

“Zack, why do you… ” she trailed off. “Right. I’ll go check on her. I’ll be right back, Dani!” She started off towards the bathroom.

Left alone, Zack turned to Daniel. He pointed to the phone. “That was Johan, right? Johan Seong?”

“Um, yes. Why, do you know him?” 

“Yeah,” he said. “I… Do you know where he is?” 

Daniel contemplated telling Zack about Johan’s request to meet up, but thought back to Johan’s accusations. I can’t betray his trust again.

“No. Just ” Zack nodded. He shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Daniel,” Zack said. “The guys that Vasco beat up, while trying to find James Gong… They were a part of a bigger crew in the area.”

“Were they?”

“Yeah,” he said. Then, “How’d you know about the bank account scams?”

Shit.

Daniel was reminded of Johan questioning last time. He was a horrible liar (as many of his friends had told him before), but Gun told him that the best lies came from the truth. “I had a friend who also got scammed by them.”

“And how’d you know about the billiards place?”

“It’s his favorite game spot, apparently,” Daniel answered. “I’ve been there a few times and saw him.”

“How did you know about James, then?”

“He was the same guy that ripped off my friend.”

“And so you went off to confront him? What would have happened if you didn’t stop your fall?” Zack’s face, which had been scarily blank the whole time, had turned slightly angry. “If I didn’t call the police in time?”

“But I did stop our fall, and I knew you would call them.”

“But you could’ve — ” Zack put his hands on both of Daniel’s shoulders, shaking him. “Don’t you get it?”

“Get what, Zack? Just spit it out!”

But the other boy simply let go of him, sighing. “If you don’t get it now, then I shouldn’t explain it.”

“What does that mean?”

“Just… Be more careful, okay?” Zack paused. He looked down at his hands. They were bruised, likely from his renewed training regime. “Mira was worried sick.” The and so was I went unsaid.

“I will,” Daniel lied. 

Sorry, Zack, but I’ve got a lot more I need to do. 

And I can’t afford to get distracted again.

“Dani.”

“Johan.”

The two stared at each other. They were back at their sparring location, an abandoned gym that was supposed to have undergone renovations five years ago. Johan was dressed in his God Dog jacket again, and Daniel in his school uniform without the blazer. Enu and Eden were in the adjacent room, rolling around and playing with the toys they had set up for the two.

Daniel broke the silence first. “What’s up, Johan?”

Beneath his untamed bangs, the other boy’s eyes were hard and sober. “You were right about the illegal bank accounts.”

“Ah, so you did check on Jin Jang?”

“That’s right. It seems you weren’t lying about that.” 

“I wasn’t lying about any of it.”

“Maybe not,” he said. “But you weren’t being fully truthful, either.”

“What do you — ”

“You made a handful of random accusations and hunches,” Johan interrupted, “but you were wrong about an important one.”

“I was wrong? About what?” Daniel furrowed his brows. “Is that why you called me here?”

“I needed to check on something.”

“Then, what can I do to make you trust my words?”

“I’ll trust you… ” Johan said, body moving into a fighting stance. It was the same one that Daniel always defaulted to. “If you fight me with everything you have.”

“Johan, I don’t know if that’s — ”

But Johan had already lunged forward, his right fist grazing Daniel’s cheek.

It looked like Daniel hadn’t been the only one holding back.

A rapid series of jabs that Daniel recognized from Zack came towards him. Just a year ago, in his weakened state, Daniel would have struggled to react. But with a year and a half of sparring under his belt, he easily dodged each. 

He caught Johan’s last punch with his right hand, dragging Johan forward and hitting his stomach with his left elbow. The boy heaved, but recovered before Daniel’s second attack, a palm strike aimed at his jaw, could land.

Johan managed to disentangle himself from Daniel’s grip, stumbling backward. He brought his hands back up to strike again, but Daniel was quicker. He was forced to slowly back up as a barrage of kicks landed against his crossguard, each more brutal than the last. 

Eventually, his back hit a wall. 

Shit.

A roundhouse kick slammed Johan’s face into the wall, smashing his cheek in between Daniel’s sneakers and the unforgiving concrete. A spray of blood came from his nose. “Crap, Johan, are you —”

Johan’s leg rocketed upwards, kneeing Daniel in the side. “You’re still not fighting seriously,” he said, spitting out a lost tooth. “Come on, Daniel Park. Show me what Gun has taught you!” He reached out and grabbed Daniel’s hand, lifting and twisting his body upside down in the same move that Daniel had used in the alleyway.

Except Daniel’s feet stayed on the ground. “Is Gun why you’re fighting me?”

But Johan was too caught up in himself to answer. Ducking under Daniel’s guard, his foot came up to kick his chin, only for Daniel to simply tilt his head. Before he could retract his foot, Daniel grabbed onto his ankle and threw him across the floor. 

Johan landed harshly, rolling to try and distribute the force. Bruises were already forming on his forearms. He scrambled to his feet as Daniel approached leisurely. “Come on, fight me for real!”

“No.” Johan’s face twisted.

“Why not?” he yelled, kicking at Daniel’s face. 

“Because I don’t like fighting,” Daniel said, leaning backwards. 

“Then what are you doing right now?” Johan dove forward, but Daniel sidestepped. 

“Trying to get you to trust me.” As Johan threw an uppercut his way, Daniel jumped into the air, twisting his body. Johan could feel the air change, a sickening chill falling over the room. His eyes widened, then shut in anticipation for the hit.

But instead of a stinging pain, all he felt was a light tap. He opened his eyes, leaping back from where Daniel had landed, foot raised. “What the — ”

“If I didn’t stop my momentum,” he said. “I could have killed you with that move.” Daniel dropped his foot, then dusted off his clothes. Unlike Johan’s, which had become rough and dirtied in their fight, his were still pristine. “Now, can you tell me how I can help you?”

Johan stared at Daniel. His body ached, but it was a pleasant ache, unlike the other pain that he usually felt after fighting. His mind was still caught up in the moment right before the kick, when Daniel had almost killed him. “Fine.”

And so, Johan explained his situation, despite knowing that Daniel already understood most of it. Even though he was prepared for the pity that he would receive, all Johan could see in the other boy’s eyes was empathy. 

By the end, they were both sitting side-by-side on the gym bench, as Daniel bandaged Johan’s injuries. 

“I can find a way to get the rest of the money, so don’t worry about that,” Daniel said. “We should be trying to — ”

“I already have it,” Johan said. 

“Huh?”

“I saved enough a while ago, but… ” He bit his lip, looking at the ground, bangs covering his eyes. “It’s the transplant list. She’s nowhere near the top, because of her age.”

“Then we’ll just move her up,” Daniel said. 

“How can you do that?” he asked, looking up. 

“I told you, I know someone.”

“Someone powerful enough to save my mom’s eyes?”

“Yes.” 

“Why?” he asked, his voice small. Despite his bruised and battered form, with a line of blood streaming down a very broken nose, Johan looked very much like a child. 

He only got involved in crews and fighting to provide for his mom… 

Johan, you deserve a happy ending.

“Is it wrong to want to just help a friend out?” he asked. 

“We’re… friends?” His face twisted into an expression that Daniel couldn’t decipher.

“Of course!” Daniel said. “What else would we be?”

And, just like that, Johan burst into silent tears. “Thank you, Dani. Thank you. If you ever need my help… Just call.” Despite the tears, his voice didn’t waver. 

“I will,” he lied. 

Sorry, Johan. But I promised to keep as many people out of this as possible, and that includes you. 

This time, I’ll be strong enough to take down everyone I need without others' help. 

Lost in thought, Daniel tensed as Johan lunged forward again — but this time, only a pair of strong arms came to encircle his waist.

It took awhile to extract himself from Johan’s embrace. By the time his emotions had settled, it was already dark out. Enu and Eden, who they had taken from the other room to cuddle with, were whining for dinner. 

“I’ll contact you when my friend gets back to me,” Daniel said. “I promise it won’t be long, Johan.”

“Right.” Johan’s eyes were red and puffy, adding to his childlike appearance. “Get home safe, Dani.”

“Wait,” he said. “Do you need help taking down the rest of God Dog? I can — ”

“No,” Johan said. He opened up his God Dog jacket, revealing a bloodied white t-shirt underneath. “I dealt with them before coming here.”

And you still managed to almost hit me, Daniel thought. Ha. You really are a genius, Johan.

Daniel waved goodbye to Johan, who, for the first time since Daniel had met him in this life, walked away with his head held high. He started off for his own home, Enu happily following behind him.

Once he got home, he started on dinner. Poor Enu had been waiting hours for her meal, so Daniel made sure to give her a little extra. As he sat down to eat, he happened to glance at the clothes rack where he kept all of Jay’s outfits, and then hastily opened up his phone.

dani park: omg mira i am so sorry i totally forgot we were planning on meeting tn, something super urgent came up

dani park: i’m the biggest jerk in the world ;-;

dani park: could we hang tmo night???

dani park: w jasmine ofc

dani park: i’ll pay for dinner!!!!!

Daniel bit his lip. I am an asshole… Just as he was going to call his mother for their nightly talks, a few messages from Zack came in.

Master Boxer Zack Lee: hey

Master Boxer Zack Lee: dont open tweeter

Master Boxer Zack Lee: jus ttrusme

dani park: um okay

dani park: i don’t have tweeter anyway

dani park: also you need to fix your spelling

Despite his critique, Zack didn’t answer Daniel’s texts, only reacting with a heart to the second one. 

Strange… Daniel thought, slurping on some noodles. I wonder why he would…

Just then, his mother’s call came in. He picked up immediately. “Daniel? How was your day?” He smiled down at his bowl, thinking of Johan’s hug. 

“It was good, Mom. Really good.”

“Is this where they said they’d meet us?” Zoe asked, breathing into her uncovered hands. She was dressed in simple clothes, recently purchased from a nearby thrift store. 

“Yeah,” Zack said. “I can’t believe Jay just gave us a thousand dollars.”

The original plan had been for Zack and Jay to go undercover, posing as runaways online. But they quickly found that accepting one guy, let alone two, was a tough sell for runaway fams. So after a quick round of rock-paper-scissors, it had been decided that Zack would stay and Zoe would replace Jay. And while the blond had been disappointed, he was given a very important task: keep Dani from finding out about the scammers. By now, they should be out shopping together before catching a bite to eat. (It had taken a whole hour to convince Zoe to switch with Jay instead of Zack, after that reveal.)

“Um… ”

“Excuse us… ”

“Are you two… ”

“The runaways?”

Zoe and Zack turned, seeing two girls nervously staring at them. “Ah, yes,” Zoe said. “I’m Zoe.” She looked at Zack to introduce himself, nudging him with an elbow. 

“And I’m Zack.”

“Oh, are you two siblings?”

“Uh,” Zoe said. “Yes! Yes, we’re siblings who ran away from home.”

“Lucky! It must be nice to have a sibling with you,” one of them said. Looking closer at them, Zoe could see how ratty and worn out their uniforms were. Besides that, they were shivering in the cold weather. 

“Yeah,” Zack said. “We’re real lucky.” Zoe and Zack exchanged a look. They had been doing that a lot lately.

“Do you want to get something to eat?” she asked, and the girls immediately agreed.

“Your names are Like What and So Funny?” Zack asked, watching in disgusted awe as they devoured the food they bought them. 

“Yeah,” Like What said. “‘Cause we say it so often. Like what, haha! ”

“To be honest, we were just going to take your money, but you’re both too nice,” So Funny said.

“How do you make money?” Zoe asked, and the fast food joint’s atmosphere seemed to immediately grow dark. “Do you sell… stockings?”

“Stockings? She asked if we sold stockings! Like, so funny! ”

“Ah, but Dad needed to get stockings, too. Like what, haha! ”

“Your Dad sells stockings?” Zack asked, and the two runaways burst into another peal of laughter. They explained the system of runaway fams to them. 

“But we should get back soon,” So Funny said. “It’s pretty late.”

“Yeah. But it was so nice to meet you two! Thank you for buying us food.” Like What said. The two girls got up to leave, but were stopped by Zoe’s hand.

“Hey… is there any chance we could join your fam?”

So, despite Like What and So Funny tried to dissuade them, they made their way back to the runaway fam’s house. “Dad probably won’t like that we were out later than we said we would be,” So Funny said. “And I don’t know if he’ll say yes to a new guy.”

“Don’t worry, though,” Like What said, turning to Zoe. “He hasn’t turned down a girl yet. Plus, he usually lets the new ones wait a bit before their first roleplay.”

“Roleplay?” Zack asked. “Is that some kind of… ” He looked over to Zoe, but stopped when he saw her face. “Zoe? Are you okay?”

She didn’t answer. 

With an uneasy mood, they finally made it to the apartment. “Dad, we’re home,” Like What said, opening the door to reveal a bunch of teenagers sharing a one-bedroom apartment. 

“You little sluts!” their “Dad” said, raising a hand to hit Like What. “You were late again, and you came back with a man?” He brought his hand down, but a hand came out to stop him.

“Hey,” Zack said. “Didn’t your parents teach you to never hit a woman?”

“You asshole!” he yelled, trying to take back his wrist. But Zack’s grip was too strong. “Hey, help me out here!” The other men in the room also stood up.

“You’re the ones who make Like What and So Funny do roleplays?” Zoe asked. She was staring at the ground, her bangs and long hair obscuring her face. 

“They told you about that?” he asked, turning to So Funny. “You bitches! I bet it was you, huh? Well, even if you bring your stupid little friends, it won’t stop me from — ”

SMASH!

The whole room went silent as a white bat, previously resting against the wall, slammed into the side of “Dad’s” face. Three teeth flew through the air, landing into the ashtray in the middle of the room. “Dad” fell to the ground, knocked out.

Zoe, bat still raised, looked around at the rest of the men in the room. “Get out. Before I hit you with it, too.”

Of course, they didn’t scurry away. But with Zack’s boxing, the two of them easily took out the runaway fam, as the girls in the room watched in a mixture of fear and awe. 

“Hey,” Zack said, turning to the last one left conscious. Blood was dripping from his knuckles, but this one had been hit in the stomach by Zoe, likely rupturing something as he was coughing out blood. “Do you know about Hostel?”

“Hostel?” he groaned out. “I, I don’t — ”

“Don’t fucking lie, you asshole,” Zack said, lifting him up by the collar. “Tell us how to — ”

“Put him down, Zack.” All eyes turned to the doorway.

“Dani? How did you… ”

“Jay told me. After a lot of pressure.”

Damn it, Jay! both Zoe and Zack thought.

(Currently, the unfortunate man they were cursing at was worried out of his mind after coming back from buying movie snacks to an empty theatre sit, with only a small note from Daniel explaining that he had to leave.)

“You guys are looking for Hostel, right?” Dani asked. “Let’s go there.” She turned, then looked back over her shoulder at the female members of the runaway fam. “You guys can come, too.”

“Dani, you… ”

“… Know where Hostel is?”

Daniel didn’t think that his friends would have the guts to keep more secrets from him, especially after how horrible it had gone last time. He had thought that at the very least Zack would have said something more substantial than a few cryptic texts.

Unfortunately for his friends, they had let the one person that Daniel could read like a book distract him. He had thought that the offer to go shopping was suspicious in the first place — he and Jay tended to prefer hanging out with Enu and the puppies in Jay’s penthouse, or walking around parks — but Jay’s strange behavior during their hangout had just solidified the fact that something was up. 

So, after a few minutes of prodding, Jay had confided that he was just worried about a scam that was going on. He didn’t elaborate any more than that, but Daniel didn’t need him to. Immediately he had rushed over to the place that he had first met Like What and So Funny, but couldn’t find them. Luckily, it seemed like Mira wasn’t in on the situation, so a quick text to her revealed where Zack’s location was (he kept his location shared to her in case she ever needed it). And he had arrived just in time. It would’ve been disastrous if Zack and Zoe had tried to face Hostel B’s fake Max and Derek. 

“This is Hostel,” Daniel said, gesturing to the tables of customers. “The other group was just pretending to be them.” They were at Hostel B’s tteokbokki stand.

“A tteokbokki stand?” Zack asked, looking around. All of the part-time workers were young girls, but none of them seemed scared or like they were being threatened. “And it’s not a cover-up for something?”

“No,” he said. “It’s just a group of runaways trying to make it through.” He turned to the group of girls they had taken with them, who were all salivating at the sight of the food. “Eat up, it’s my treat.” They immediately dug in, despite the bad taste.

“Then, the fam we were just at… ”

“Just a shitty group of people who liked exploiting others,” Daniel said. “In reality, Hostel is a really peaceful group of… ”

“Woah, are those two guys gangsters? Why are they holding those two boys hostage?”

They all turned to look at Warren Chae and Vasco, who were walking towards the tteokbokki stand, both restraining a former God Dog member. Sally Park came around to the customers, assuring them that they were just playing a little game. After a second, the hungry customers went back to their food. 

“Vasco?” Zoe asked, as they all walked up to the group. “What happened?”

“You idiot!” Zack said. “We’re supposed to be keeping a low profile.” He raised a hand up to slap Vasco’s arm, but Warren’s hand came out to stop him. 

“You (shouldn’t fight in front of) girls,” Warren said.

“What did you just call us?” Zack said. 

“Hey, why are you offended by that, Zack?” Zoe yelled, pointing her stolen bat at him. It seems she had taken a shine to it. 

“Thank you for calling us girls!” he yelled, ducking away. 

“Why are you two here?” Sally asked, leaning down to stare at the hostages. 

“Jin Jang sent us,” one of them said. 

“He wanted to tell you that — ” But before they could finish, Daniel stood between Sally and them. 

“You’re Big Mama, right?” he asked. Her eyebrows rose, then she nodded. “I’m Dani Park. I go to school with Eli Jang.”

Chapter Text

Joy was out with some of her fellow fashion department first-years when Jay called her. As her brother much preferred texting, she immediately dropped everything, locking herself in a bathroom stall. 

“Jay?” she asked, answering the FaceTime call. Her older brother was in the lobby of a movie theatre, two combo sets abandoned on the counter as he frantically recounted what had just happened. “Dani found out about the scam? And left a note saying that she had to leave?”

Jay nodded, biting his lip in worry. “It’s not your fault she found out,” Joy said. “Dani’s super smart and I bet she just realized that something was wrong.” Still, her brother’s lips stayed downturned. “Hey, let me just text to see if she’s okay.”

Joy opened up her text messages, scrolling to Dani’s profile. Just as she was about to text her, Jay informed her that he had gotten a message from the other girl. “Oh, she said she’s heading back with Zack and Zoe? And that all’s good?” Jay nodded, smiling in relief, but Joy could still sense his guilt. 

“Hey,” she said, walking back out to her group of friends. “I’m like, super sorry, but something just came up! I promise I’ll make it up to everyone.”

“Awe, it’s no problem, Joy!”

“Wait, are you on a call with your hot older brother?”

“Okay,” she said, “I gotta go!” Joy waved goodbye, looking back down at the call. “Jay, you’re gonna head home, right? I’ll meet you at your apartment.” Jay started to object, but she shook her head. “Nope! I’ll see you in a few.”

After calling her driver, Joy found herself inside Jay’s apartment, petting the four dogs that he had adopted last year. It had surprised Joy when she found out, as she thought Jay was scared of dogs, but found out from Mira that he had taken them on when Dani could no longer handle five dogs. 

“Hello,” she said, setting out a bowl of food. “I bet Jay spoils you four rotten, huh?” 

Just then, the door opened, revealing a slightly rumpled Jay. He was truly dressed to the nines, his hair styled neatly, a single gold earring matching his golden bolo tie, and a dark blue suit with a black shirt underneath. Joy knew that he must’ve looked amazing next to Dani. 

“Welcome home!” Joy said, sitting down on the living room sofa. It was a super modern one, extremely hard and uncomfortable to lay on. Jay sat down across from her, shrugging off his blazer and tilting his head at her. “Why did I barge in here? Isn’t it obvious?” 

Jay shook his head, mouth twisting. “No, I didn’t want to just annoy you,” she said. “It’s because I knew you were sad about your date ending early!” Jay’s mouth opened then shut, his hands waving frantically in the air. 

“Don’t lie, I know you totally dressed up just for Dani. Did you even send her a new outfit so you could match?” Her brother’s face erupted in a deep crimson, and Joy laughed at his embarrassment. “I knew it!”

Jay stood up, hands on his hips as he shook his head. “I know you’re still in denial of your feelings, but pretending like you weren’t hoping it was a date is just plain lying.” Jay huffed, then moved forward to tackle Joy. 

“Ah!” she yelled, jumping over the sofa’s back. Immediately, they began a game of cat-and-mouse, as Jay chased her around the high-rise penthouse, jumping over chairs and abandoned dog toys.

“You’re too slow, Jay,” she taunted, rolling over an armchair as Jay’s hand swiped where she had previously been. He immediately jumped over the armchair, reaching a leg out to bind Joy’s legs. She barely avoided the grapple and started to run towards the kitchen, when Jay’s hand came out to tug on her hair, sending them both crashing to the ground. “Hey, tugging on my hair is against the — ”

“Ahem.” 

The two siblings, who were tangled up in a mess of limbs in the living room, looked for who the new voice belonged to.

Standing above them was their father, Steve Hong, hands behind his back. He was looking down at them, his face blank. “Well? Are you quite done playing around?”

“Dad?” Joy asked, slowly removing herself from Jay. They both stood up, bowing in greeting. She glanced at her older brother, whose face didn’t rise from the ground. “What are you doing here?”

“Is it wrong for a father to visit his children?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow.

“Well, no,” she said. “But you haven’t talked to Jay since — ”

“And that was a decision between me and Jay.”

“But — ”

“Joy,” he said, tilting his head to the exit. “Maybe you should leave us, so that Jay and I can have a private conversation.” 

Every time before, Joy had accepted with reluctance. 

“No,” Joy said. “I’ll stay.”

But the last time she had left the room for them to have a private conversation, she had found out from a gossiping maid that Jay had been thrown out with only a single bag of clothes to his name. It had only been after weeks of begging that she found out a recently-fired butler had taken Jay in, helping him keep ownership over the department and fashion stores Jay ran and housing the young boy until he could afford to move out.

“Joy,”  their father said. “Leave.”

“No. I’m not leaving Jay alone this time.” Joy glared at their father, coming to stand between him and Jay. 

“Fine,” he said. “I suppose it does affect you as well.”

“Well, get on with it,” Joy said, frowning. Their father gestured for them to sit on the sofa, which they both did, cautious. 

“I was informed by Kitae,” their father said, sitting down in Jay’s favorite reclining chair, “that you have a little girlfriend. Dani Park, is it?” Almost immediately, Jay’s face grew solemn. 

“…”

“I heard about the girl that you recommended to Sophia,” he said. The woman in question was stationed at the doorway, and didn’t meet Joy’s accusatory stare. “Imagine my surprise when I began to look into this ‘Dani Park’ and found… ” He held his hand out for a stack of papers from his assistant, but a hand came out to block the exchange.

“Dad,” Joy said. “Jay and Dani are just friends. It’s not that big a deal.”

“Joy, you’re too naive,” he said. “Maybe that’s my fault, though, for always sheltering you.”

“At least I know that doing an investigation on our friend is bad!”

“You’re a Hong,” he said. “There’s certain precautions that must be made.”

“But Dad — ” Their father glared at her, and Joy shut her mouth, pursing her lips. 

“Imagine my surprise when I looked up Dani Park’s information and all I could find were these.” His assistant set the papers in front of Joy and Jay, who leaned over to read them. They were the legal records of someone named “Daniel Park,” an extremely chubby boy whose eyes could barely be seen behind his chunky glasses held together by tape. 

“Who… ” Joy trailed off, reading the rest of the information. All of it was the same as Dani had mentioned: the same hometown, middle school, her mother’s name… 

“!” Jay’s face was murderous. He grabbed the papers from the table and threw them at their father. Sophia caught them just before they could hit, and their father didn’t even blink an eye at the outburst.

“It’s as I expected,” he said. “You did your own background check, correct? And you already knew that ‘Dani Park’ was actually Daniel Park, the crossdresser.”

“Dani’s… ” Joy’s mouth fell open.

“Were you hoping to use him to convince me to let you back?” their father asked, leaning forward. “I’m disappointed, Jay. When Sophia first told me, I thought you had truly changed your ways. But it seems I was wrong. You’re still screwing around.”

Jay stood up, hands clenched, staring at the ground. “…”

“Don’t say that about her?” their father asked. “Ha. You still refuse to admit when your ruse is up. I don’t care whether you fuck the tranny or not, you’re already independent. But I care that you’re bringing Joy into it.”

“Who are you to decide that, Dad?” Joy asked, getting up to stand next to Jay. “And watch what you say about Dani. She’s my friend.”

“Joy… ” their father said, eyes wide. She crossed her arms, frowning down at him. 

“You always taught us to be open-hearted and kind. To help those in need. But what you’re doing right now… ” She took a breath, steeling herself. “It’s everything Mom would have hated.”

The room fell into an uneasy mood after her statement. 

“I won’t let any man,” she continued, “talk bad about Dani. Not even you, Dad.”

“Very well,” their father said, standing up. “It seems I’ve been outnumbered by my own children. It’s good that Joy’s willing to stand up for you now, Jay.” 

He started to leave, but Jay’s hand stopped him. He said something so low that even Joy couldn’t hear him, but it was clear that her father and Jay’s butler did. 

“Young Master… ” 

Joy watched as Jay and their father stared at each other. After a minute, their father sighed, moving around Jay’s still outstretched arm to leave. “Joy,” he said. “I expect you home in an hour.”

With that, Steve Hong made his way out. When they got to the discrete black BMW, Sophia came up next to Steve, opening the door. “Sophia,” he said, stepping into the car. “What do you think about training Joy?”

Maybe I’ve just been looking in the wrong places for my solution.

Or maybe…

He looked back up at the window of the penthouse he just exited, where two figures were hugging. 

There doesn’t have to be just one right answer.

They drove off. 

Back in Jay’s penthouse, the two Hong siblings were sitting in awkward silence after the emotional outburst they had just allowed themselves to experience. Joy was taking deep breaths, checking herself in her phone’s camera to make sure her eyes weren’t too puffy from crying, when Jay asked her about what she meant by not letting any man talk bad about Dani.

Putting on her shoes, Joy looked over her shoulder at Jay, smiling softly. “I’m afraid it’s girl business, no men allowed.” 

Jay frowned. “Huh? Zoe said the same thing? Wait, explain slower… ”

Joy ended up getting home with just seconds to spare. When her father greeted her at the door, she only brushed past him, running up to her room and shutting the door. 

“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” Warren sang. 

His fist was already raised, heading straight to Eli’s face. Despite knowing the story behind Warren’s actions, Daniel still brought a hand up to halt the punch. 

But the hit barely felt like anything. 

Ah. You were just doing it for show, huh?

Warren and Daniel simply stared at each other for a moment, Warren’s fist clutched in Daniel’s hand. Their friends were in similar states of surprise, before reacting.

“Warren!” Sally Park said. “You could’ve hurt her!”

“Dani!” Zoe said, stepping between Warren and Daniel.

“!” Jay came around the other side of Warren, a menacing aura emitting from him.

“Are you looking for a fight?” Zack said, fists raised. Beside him, Mira crossed her arms, side-eyeing her boyfriend. “… Not that I’ll be doing the fighting.”

“(Sorry)” Warren put his hand back down. 

“If it’s a one-word sentence, you can’t omit anything or you just seem like a jerk… ” Sally mumbled. She immediately bowed, tugging Warren down with her. “I’m sorry this jerk almost hit you! Warren, say it again.”

“I was trying to (hit Eli.)”

“You little — ” Zoe was only barely held back from hitting the still-bowing Warren. “Zack! Let me at this jerk!”

“Sorry (about) that,” Warren said, straightening up. “It’s (nice to officially meet) you. Let me introduce myself. 1083 matches, 1079 wins, 4 defeats. I’m Gangdong’s Mighty, Warren Chae.”

“Gah,” Zoe said. “Embarrassing!”

“Is that new slang?” 

“Did he lose a bet or something?”

“Ugh, I told you not to say that in public!”

I thought it sounded cool… Daniel thought. 

Zack stepped forward, hand outstretched. “I’m Zack. I don’t know my record, I lost count after I beat up a thousand.”

“Oh, my god… ”

“Mira, tell him to stop!”

Zack, I don’t think you should be proud of that… 

The two boys shook hands as their friends looked on in embarrassment. Sally explained the situation to the confused J-High students, saying that they knew Eli from way back. They waved goodbye to them, saying that they had to go home. 

“Eli,” Daniel said, stopping the other boy in his tracks. “Could we talk?”

“Dani, I’ll come… ” Zoe started, but trailed off at Daniel’s smile. 

“It’s just a quick conversation,” he said. His friends nodded, worry evident on their faces. 

Daniel and Eli made their way to a nearby street, far enough away that the others couldn’t eavesdrop. “What did you want to talk about, Dani Park?” he asked. 

“You’re going to return to Hostel,” Daniel said. Eli stayed silent. “No need to pretend. But don’t go after Olly Wang.”

“What?” he asked. “How do you know about Olly?”

“You can’t beat him,” he said, not answering. “He’s already surpassed you.”

“How can you — ” 

SLAP!

Eli slowly twisted his head back to Daniel, mouth open, his left cheek quickly reddening. “See? You couldn’t even react to my slap,” he taunts. “Talk about pathetic.”

Eli took a breath, and then brought a hand out, which Daniel easily sidestepped. More came, but Daniel easily avoided each of Eli’s jabs. He started to grow more aggressive, jumping at Daniel, but he still couldn’t land a single hit.

“And all you’re doing is whiffing at the air. You’re no match for him.”

Quicker than he could even see, Daniel rushed forward and headbutted Eli, shocking the other boy. He quickly reached and grabbed his arm, swinging him over and throwing him onto the ground. 

Looking over the shocked boy, Daniel leaned down. “Just trust me,” he said. “Go and reunite with your family. I’ll take care of everything.”

And take care of things he did. 

The pathetic excuse for former God Dog members were quickly taken care of by Daniel before their intended targets could even catch a glimpse of them. Really, Jin Jang’s machinations were a lot easier to anticipate when you had already lived through them.

After that fiasco, Daniel was planning on taking on Hostel A and Olly Wang next, of course. 

No, really, he was. It would’ve been easy, too. While he hadn’t been there for its end, he knew that he could defeat all of Hostel within just a few hours. Hell, maybe even before Gun heard about it. 

It’s just… 

When Eli had recounted the tragedy of Hostel to them, he could feel how much Eli regretted not being able to fully reconcile with Olly. He didn’t want to take that away from him. After all, even though Heather told Eli to always smile, his iconic charming grins had all but disappeared after Olly’s death, only appearing in front of his daughter.

Since Eli hadn’t decided to come back to Hostel yet, and Daniel was definitely not close enough to him to request it (plus, the boy had taken to glaring at him whenever they would see each other), it became a waiting game.

And so, that’s why he was on a train to Cheonliang. 

“Woah, Seoul women really are something else… ”

“Ha, I can see their thighs… ”

“And the two with pants on look like they work out… ”

Ugh, Daniel thought, These assholes.

“Are you cold, Mira, Joy? You can borrow my jacket,” Zoe said, offering them her windbreaker. Daniel also held his out.

“Oh, thanks, Zoe,” Mira said, taking it. “They really crank the AC up on here, huh?”

“Better than being all sweaty,” Joy said, putting Daniel’s jacket over her legs. 

He had forgotten how creepy the small Cheonliang crew members had been. While he had been disgusted by them in his last life, he had still told Zack to not fight for fear of ruining their vacation. While Zack had eventually fought (for good reason, too), Daniel remembers being disappointed, even though he had technically fought as well.

This time, he didn’t even say anything when Zack stood up and started a ruckus. He wanted to do the same thing, but something in Daniel made him hesitate to do anything. He was stronger than the men, stronger than anyone else on the train, but… 

“Stop bothering them,” Vasco said, suddenly appearing behind the boys. Just like last time, they quickly fled, finally leaving their group in peace.

“Thanks for that,” Zoe said. “I was just about ready to beat their asses myself!”

“Not if Zack had any say in it,” Joy said. 

“You two shouldn’t be fighting in the first place,” Mira said. 

“You okay?” Zack asked, nodding at Daniel’s lap. Looking down, he could see that his hands had subconsciously clenched onto his pants. He released his grip.

“Yeah,” he said. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine, dude,” Zack said. “Er. Girl.”

They continued to try and pass time on the train but, just like last time, the perverts kept coming back. But for some reason, instead of Zack almost getting into fights, it was Zoe instead. She seemed especially riled up after the first few incidents.

“Ptooey!” Zoe spit at one of the perverts, who was about to “accidentally” spill Coca Cola on Mira. “Oh, oops, I was aiming for your eye.” Zack coughed to cover up a laugh, as the spat-upon boy wiped off the saliva. 

“Seriously, what’s your problem?” Joy asked. “Just go be gross somewhere else.”

“Zack, Zoe, Joy, let’s try not to fight,” Mira said. In a quieter voice, “But try to get them to go away. Dani seems… ” They all looked over to where Daniel was frowning, staring out at the passing scenery. He didn’t seem to even be registering their words. Most of their attempts to annoy the girls had been directed at her, although Zack, Zoe and Joy had managed to intervene. 

“Oh, we’ll get them to go away,” Zack and Zoe said, cracking their knuckles. They side-eyed each other at the unintentional unity.

But before a true confrontation could happen, the boys were ushered away by their leader. “Sorry about them,” the leader said, bowing. “They really don’t know to to act.”

“It’s okay,” Mira said, as the others (minus Daniel) around her seethed. The Cheonliang crew all walked away. Mira turned to Zack and Zoe. “Since they apologize, you two should, too.”

“What?” they both asked. “Why?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do,” she answered, crossing her arms. “Now go on.”

“I think it’s alright, Mira,” Daniel said. He had been quiet for the majority of the train ride, only piping in a few times, so all their eyes immediately went to him. “And I think that Zack and Zoe were doing the right thing, anyway. They were pretty annoying.”

“I guess… ” Mira said, biting her lip. She sighed. “Well, it’s not that big of a deal. Let’s just try to enjoy the rest of our trip.”

So they all enjoyed the rest of their train ride, immediately splaying out into their hotel rooms. Mr. Yoon had somehow gotten Daniel his own room which, while nice, was also a bit lonely. He was used to sharing a room with the other guys during school trips. 

Finally, after hours on the bus, it was time to enjoy the beach.

Before their trip, Daniel had been worried about his swimwear. He didn’t own anything other than swimming shorts, and although he considered just wearing a t-shirt the whole time, he had trouble convincing the other girls that he didn’t want to go swimsuit shopping prior to the trip. It was only because Joy also said she couldn’t go that they let up, making both him and Joy promise to go shopping some other time. 

However, just as he had been preparing himself to reveal the truth through only wearing trunks, another bag of clothes appeared in the same style of bag that Jay’s gifts always came in, except they were a dark purple instead of dark blue. Opening them, he found a variety of modest swimwear, from loose swimming skirts with built-in shorts, cover-ups, and long-sleeve tops, all with a catalogue explaining how to style them.

And so, he and his friends all enjoyed the Cheonliang beach, momentarily interrupted by Vin Jin and Mary’s old friends and the local Judo club. All in all, it was a nice little vacation from the hecticness of Daniel’s normal life. 

Of course, playing on the beach wasn’t the only thing he had done. After MC Pesticides ran away before Mary arrived, Daniel pretended to leave for the bathroom, and instead beat the other boy up so that he couldn’t join Hostel. Without interference from the Cheonliang fam, Daniel would have a quicker time defeating Hostel A.

And so, he slept quite nicely on the train ride home, a small smile on his face as his friends all struggled to keep their voices down around him.

Dani Park had told Eli to “leave it to her.”

He wasn’t going to, originally. He had been taught that women were to be protected and cared for. As a father, he couldn’t imagine letting Yenna go off and fight for him. 

But it was clear from their fight, however short, that Dani Park was more than meets the eye. Briefly, Eli wondered if she was like him, an abused child turned street urchin turned a barely functioning member of society, but her attitude spoke of someone who was a lot more well-adjusted to society than him. And, judging by how her friends acted, she was a lot more naive than a street urchin could ever afford to be. 

So, Eli was just planning on letting Dani Park handle it, like she said she would. He was just going to visit Sally and Warren, who were still living at the place where everything started and ended, letting them meet their niece. He could pretend like they were just a normal family, visiting each other after a few years of separation. Ultimately, they would have to go home. 

But then he ran into a child trying to steal from a supermarket. 

And Sally and Warren told him about Olly Wang and Hostel A. 

Dani Park was strong. Stronger than he was. 

But these were family matters.

Eli and Warren walked straight into Hostel A’s headquarters. Outside were groups of runaway kids, the kind that Hostel was originally made to provide a home to. Now, they were prepared to fight for a cause they didn’t even understand.

“Why do they have… ”

“Capital H tattoos? Like Big Daddy?”

“Who… ”

The murmurs around them didn’t cease, even as Eli walked up to the oldest-looking member with a lowercase h tattoo. Despite his pretty face, it was clear that Eli was much stronger than anyone else there. The H tattoo was evidence of that.

“Bring Olly Wang to me,” he said. Beside him, Warren had crossed his arms, tensed and ready for a fight. He kept looking around at the crowd, as though at any moment one of the starving kids would jump out to try and protect their home.

Before he could respond to Eli, a loud thud resonated through the place, disrupting the momentary silence that Eli’s words had caused.  Framed by streetlight, a small figure began to step towards them, slowly, as the crowd dispersed around her. 

She was dragging behind her a hunk of bruised meat, revealed to be an unconscious Jerry Kwon. The surprised members of Hostel A seemed to think Dani had somehow taken Jerry by surprise, or beaten him through underhanded tricks, but Eli could recognize the brutal signs of Kyokushin Karate and Capoeira. Although it was hard to believe that such a small girl, who had almost no signs of a fight present on her, could take down someone three times her size. 

She threw Jerry onto the ground harshly, coming up to stand on the other side of Eli, flanking him like Warren. She tilted her head at him, smiling slightly. 

Eli turned back to the member, who was staring at Dani. “Get Olly,” Eli said. “I won’t ask again.”

The other Hostel A members started to whisper amongst themselves. “What should we… ”

“That’s Eli Jang, the original Big Daddy.”

“Why the fuck are we hesitating? It’s just two has-beens and a fucking girl. Let’s just — ”

A glare from Eli, Warren, and Dani shut the members up. 

“What’s this? No one’s fighting?” 

Every person turned to the voice. “Olly,” Eli said, gripping his baton.

“ELI!” he yelled, grinning widely, face flushed. He walked towards him, pushing the stunned Hostel A members out of the way. “Hey, get outta my way, stop hogging Eli! I have a shitload of things to talk about!” He finally made his way right in front of Eli, ignoring Dani and Warren. “Did you see everyone? You met my little Eli, right? Isn’t this great? I’ve missed you so much!”

“Hey,” Warren said, stepping between them. “You (didn’t miss me)?” 

Eli stared as the two of them began to fight it out. Just like before, Olly Wang took hit after brutal hit from Warren, who didn’t hold back his three years of rage. Despite that, Olly’s grin didn’t falter. 

“If I knew you were this weak… ” he said, standing up. Even though his face was bruised and bloody, his nose crooked, and his right side was strangely concave, he still laughed. “I would’ve gotten rid of Hostel B a long time ago.”

“Warren,” Eli said, stepping forward. “I’ll handle Olly Wang.”

“Finally!” Olly said, tears forming. “I’ve been waiting to show you this for so long! But I guess you already met one of them… ” He waved his hands, and Eli felt his stomach grow sick in ways that it hadn’t in years. 

“You fucker… ” Warren said, eyes wide.

A crowd of children dressed in rags came up around Olly, staring at the boy like he held the world. “Do you see? That little Eli wasn’t the only one! But, no matter how close I got to your stories… None of them were like the real Eli Jang.”

Eli felt his body grow hot. It wasn’t like the anger he felt over Olly’s betrayal the first time, the animalistic rage that he exhibited. 

No. This was a wrath born from guilt. Guilt over creating Hostel. Guilt over creating Olly Wang. Guilt over not ending this, before it created more children like himself. It was the wrath of a father, who had to see children suffer because of his own shortcomings.

“You two should get out of here,” Olly said, turning to Dani and Warren. “I want to talk to Eli alone.” He waved his hand, and the rest of Hostel, emboldened by Olly’s presence, descended on the two.

It would be just like Jin Jang predicted. In fact, it was even better. J High didn’t even come to try and protect their “friend.” The only one to show up had been Dani Park, not even one of their fighter. With only Warren, who was already weak from his fight with Olly, and Eli, who would never harm a child, it was over. 

Except. As Hostel A moved to take out Warren Chae and Dani Park, the sound of bodies hitting the floor erupted from the very edges of the crowd. After just a few seconds, before they could even reach the two, Johan Seong emerged, knuckles dripping with blood. 

“God Dog?”

“Didn’t they disband?”

“Did they team up with Hostel B?”

“Johan?” Dani asked, stepping forward. As she did so, the uncles of Hostel B pounced, but without even looking at them she flipped them, a mirror of Johan and Dani’s first meeting. “Why are you… ”

“Just get fighting,” Johan said. After a second, Dani nodded.

Olly stared as Hostel A was taken out in a matter of minutes. Despite his injuries, Warren was no slouch, although the sheer number of runaways wasn’t to be scoffed at. But without two of their biggest hitters, and only inexperienced fighters, Dani and Johan moved through the crowd like well-oiled fighting machines. After a whole year and a half of sparring together, they had come to understand each other’s fighting styles like the back of their hands. 

It was a bit like watching Gun and Goo fight, Olly thought, as Dani knocked out the last of the runways. There wasn’t even a scratch on her or Johan. 

“Shouldn’t there be more of them… ” Dani whispered, staring out, waiting for reinforcements. 

“Why do you think I took so long?” Johan asked. 

“Ha,” Dani said. The two of them traded more quips, but Olly only had eyes for Eli. 

Even though they had taken out the others, there was no way for them to handle the children. And not even Johan Seong would be so inhumane as to — 

“Hey,” Dani said, walking up to the pile of kids hanging off of Eli. One of them ran forward with a razor blade, but she simply swiped it from the child, tossing it out of reach. “Didn’t you want to fight Eli alone? What kind of shit is this?”

“Butt out, you bitch!” he yelled. But she didn’t even react, only moving to extract the children from Eli. Even though they tried to claw at her, she easily avoided their attacks. For some reason, after each child came at her, they seemed to back off immediately. What the… 

Olly looked closer, and saw that in their hands were small lollipops. “Don’t you know?” Dani asked, handing the last child a bright pink one. “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.”

“You… ” Olly looked around at the children, all of whom were entranced by Dani Park. He screamed. “You!”

But she wasn’t even looking at him. “Go,” she said, staring at Eli. “We’ll deal with the strays.” And Eli nodded.

Why?

Why?

Why do you look at her, and not at me?

Look at me! 

I’m here, too! I’m right here!

Look at me.

“Olly,” Eli said, finally turning to him. “Let’s go.”

The walk to Hostel was strange. It felt both like an eternity and no time at all. They all knew that the end of Hostel’s story was near. When they got to Sally’s house, the true Max and Derek were there, tugging along their tteokbokki truck. Sally was waiting as well, and a pile of Hostel A’s members were lying unconscious. 

Eli, Warren, Max, and Derek all came to stand together in front of Sally’s house, just like he always remembered. 

“It’s a whole reunion,” Olly said. “Just like I wanted. But… ” He took a step forward, shattering the memory. “I was there, too, you know. I was one of you!”

“No,” Eli said. “You weren’t.”

“I was!” Olly yelled, lunging forward. Warren, Max, and Derek all tensed, ready to join in, but Dani held out a hand to stop them. 

“This is between the Big Daddies,” she said. Eli glanced at her as he fended off Olly’s attacks. Another time, he might have interrogated her about why she knew so much about them. About their history. 

But it wasn’t the time. 

The fight between Eli and Olly was brutal. Daniel was right — Olly had grown. Drastically. Gone was the boy who was begging Eli to spare him. All that was left was a beast intent on taking down Eli, no matter the cost. 

But Eli had to beat him. Despite his best efforts, Olly was still just a boy playing pretend. He could never choose to be the type of beast that Eli was forced to become. 

They moved through Sally’s house, through the memories of the small family that was built in the abandoned building. Anything and everything was used as a weapon. The environment itself was at their disposal. 

But, like all wild animals, weapons were useless once they got serious. They found their way to the rooftop that Hostel began, brawling amongst the happy projection of a family on the wall. 

“Is this it?” Olly asked, staring down at the beaten Eli. He heard as the rest of Hostel made their way up, gasping at the sight. “Am I really stronger than you? Why… Why can’t I feel that fear again? Was it not… ”

“Olly!” Max and Derek yelled, but he simply kicked them away. He walked towards where Sally was standing, pushing away Warren’s attempts. 

“What was it?” he screamed at her, breath quickening. “That feeling, what… ”

It was as though the strings had been cut off of Olly Wang, as he fell to his knees. He began to bang his head against the wall, a brutal, unending self-mutilation that Hostel could only watch happen. 

“Ah,” he said, standing up. Even though he had been fighting Eli and Warren, it seemed like his head banging had been the only thing to truly hurt him. “It was guilt.”

Eli, Warren, Max, Derek, and Sally all watched as Olly made his way to the ledge. They all reached out, realizing his intentions, but their injuries weighed them down. “Eli,” he said, leaning backward. “Let Yenna do what she wants.”

He closed his eyes and jumped.

Except a hand came out to grab onto his ankle, gripping tightly. 

Olly opened his eyes, and saw Dani Park above him, halfway off the ledge herself, hand outstretched to hold his ankle.

“Why… ”

“Hostel,” Dani grit out, tightening her grip on the ledge. “Won’t be a tragedy this time.” But despite her words, she was clearly struggling to hold Olly’s weight up. Her hold wasn’t the tightest, and she was at risk of falling as well.

Except other hands came down to grip at Olly. Eli and Warren’s hands grasped his leg, heaving him onto the rooftop once more. 

“You idiot,” Eli said, standing over him. Even with his injuries, he looked just as amazing as the day that he and Olly first met. “Do you think Heather would have wanted you to kill yourself?”

And, for the first time in years, Olly Wang felt true sadness.

The police came quickly, after that. It seemed that the ruckus caused by all of Hostel fighting finally reached their ears. But, unlike last time, it was Olly being brought away in cuffs. 

As he was ducking into the back seat of a police cruiser, Eli called out to him. “Olly,” he said, but the other didn’t look up. “Family is allowed to visit in prison, right?” Even though the tinted door closed, Eli knew that Olly had heard him as the police car drove away.

It was the end to Hostel A.

“Why did you save Olly?” he asked, looking around at the mess they had made of Sally’s house. They were sitting in the dining room, eating the first meal as a family in years. Initially, Dani had rejected their offer, but acquiesced once Eli bowed on his knees. “He wasn’t… I can’t imagine you knew who he was, before.”

“I didn’t,” Dani said. “But I used to know someone who would’ve kicked my ass if I didn’t save him. And aside from that… he reminded me of someone I failed to save. Twice, even. I couldn’t just let it happen again.”

Eli nodded. He had heard about Jiho Park’s incarceration, about how Dani Park had tried to prevent his incarceration. Although he wasn’t sure how she and Olly Wang were connected, he felt that it wasn’t his place to ask. 

“We won’t forget this, Dani Park,” he said. “If you need help in the future, Hostel has your back. You know where to find us.”

But, despite his words, Dani only smiled softly. “I’m afraid I won’t be taking you up on that,” she said, and Eli knew her words rang true. “But if you ever need my help, just ask.”

princess tilan private messages

user349457: Are you still selling spit?

princesstilan: hiiiii~ are you interested ૮꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ა ♡

user349457: Ahhhh yes.

user349457: Can we meet up?

user349457: I’d love to see you in person.

princesstilan: ahhh i’m shy ( //>///<//)

user349457: I will pay $1000.

princesstilan: i have a curfew (˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )

user349457: I will pay $5000. 

princesstilan: okieee ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

princesstilan: what day works for you, oppa? ( ˶ˆᗜˆ˵ )

user349457: Can you meet tonight?

Zoe clicked her phone off. She was wearing a similar outfit to the runaway look she and Zack had put on a week ago, but this time with a black hoodie, which was pulled up over her head. She was hiding between a few trash cans on the street about a block away from where she was meeting “princesstilan.”

Of course, the only person who appeared was James Gong. Originally, when Dani’s picture began to be used for scams even after they had tracked down Hostel, they had simply re-uploaded photos from previous posts. But when they started to use new photos, ones that had to have been taken at least somewhat close to Dani without her knowledge, Zoe snapped.

It didn’t matter that Hostel wasn’t behind it — someone was, and she was going to track them down. 

After extensive research, with the help of Jay and the strange purple-haired first-year that helped them with… Jiho… she had finally been able to track down the asshole that was using Dani’s photos.

It was James Gong, the same son of a bitch that was behind Jiho’s mental breakdown.

“Haha, talk about a fucking tool… ” James muttered, holding Jasmine’s stolen phone up. “He should be here already… Hm, maybe I should’ve had Jasmine come to psych him out… ”

Zoe was tempted to let the piece of shit simply get arrested. A quick call and a scan of the stolen phone would reveal the countless scams that James Gong was using to get money, not even including the variety of crimes he had committed in the last few weeks, from breaking and entering to stealing to assault. 

But he didn’t deserve the easy out.

“Hey,” Zoe said, lowering her voice. She still had her hood up, and leaned against the wall. “Do you think it’s funny to use innocent girls’ photos for scams?”

“Ah?” James said, tilting his head. “Is this a set-up, then? Jokes on you, asshole, I’m — ”

But his words were cut off by a silver bat flying straight at his face. He couldn’t dodge in time, and the bat smashed against his cheek, sending a few teeth flying towards the ground. He immediately fell over, kneeling on the disgusting alleyway floor. 

“Get up, you piece of shit,” she said, not bothering to hide her voice anymore. “Or I’ll cut your fucking dick off.”

She raised her bat again, swinging straight at his gut, but James rolled out of the way. She stepped forward to follow, but the air was suddenly taken out of her. James had thrown an elbow straight into her stomach. 

“Ha, I guess crazy bitches really exist,” he said, spitting out blood. “Hey, your fly is down.” He pointed at her crotch, but Zoe’s bat crunched into his finger. “Ah, shit!”

Zoe brought the bat down onto his hand again, a series of gruesome crunches accompanying her hit. But James leaned down onto the ground, grabbing an abandoned brick with his uninjured hand and smashing it into where she was gripping her bat. It dropped with a loud clang! 

Their fight devolved into an exchange of uncoordinated fists and fury. Zoe’s hair was pulled, her arms were bitten, and her legs were hit with James’ repurposed brick. But she gave as good as she got, kneeing him in the balls, scratching at his eyes, and eventually managed to straddle him, her hands squeezing his neck.

“Guh!” he choked, face rapidly turning red. “You… bitch… ” After what felt like a lifetime, he passed out. 

Zoe rolled off of him, gasping for air herself. The adrenaline from the fight was still coursing through her. After taking a quick pause, she started to rifle through his pockets, finding four separate phones that he was using for the scams. She stood up shakily and walked over to grab her fallen bat, smashing the four phones into oblivion. 

She looked behind her, to where James was still groaning. She wanted to call the police, but it was obvious that she had all but brutalized the other. Although she could explain the scamming, it was unlikely that they would believe she was a victim, as she was the one still standing. And besides that, they hadn’t been able to help out before. “I guess I’ll just… ”

Zoe laid a nearby trash bag over the body, attempting to hide him. It was a bit horrific to think about, but she didn’t have time to think about that. 

As she went to hobble away, a voice startled her. “Oh, what do we have here?” Zoe turned, wincing slightly as she raised her bat in preparation for a fight.

At the other end of the alleyway stood a blond man with slicked back hair, in an eye-searing yellow and black striped shirt. He had his hands in his pockets, whistling to himself as he walked over to the pile of trash that hid James. He kicked the pile, watching as a few cans rolled down. “Get away!” she yelled, brandishing her bat at him. 

Finally, James’ unconscious body was revealed from the trash. “You really did a number on him,” he said, grinning. “But then again, it looks like he wasn’t a slouch, either.”

“I said, get out of here!” Zoe knew, with how injured she was, that she probably couldn’t take the man in front of her. She was barely standing as-is, and the element of surprise was long gone. But she couldn’t afford to let him report her.

“You know how to use that thing?” he asked, tilting his head. The streetlamps above caused his glasses to glare, obscuring his eyes. 

“Yeah,” she said, willing her voice to not shake. 

“You’re certainly not bad,” he said. “But your form’s all wrong. It’s clear you don’t know one thing about holding a weapon.”

“Just leave before I bash your head out!”

“Hm… Gun always seemed to have so much fun with his little pet projects. But the last one I asked said no… ” He tilted his head, tapping his chin. “And I don’t think I need another secret friend… ” 

Zoe sneered at him. “Hey, get outta here, you psycho!” she yelled, lifting her bat over her head.

“My name’s not psycho, it’s Goo!”

Quicker than she could react, Goo kicked the bat out of Zoe’s hand, snatching it for himself. With a spin, he swept it underneath her feet, sending her crashing to the ground. Her nose smashed against the floor, and she could feel one of her teeth crack from the fall.

Goo, leaning on her stolen bat, tilted her head up to look at him. He grinned, a crazy, unrestrained look. 

“Hey, Bat Girl, whaddaya say? Wanna become my own ‘masterpiece’?”

The situation with Hostel was dangerous. He may have figured everything out in the end, with the newly disbanded Hostel A scattering away into the wild or into handcuffs, and the true Hostel B already setting up a visiting system for the newly incarcerated Olly Wang. Speaking of Olly, he had managed to save one of the people who had died unfairly before. Daniel might not have agreed with Olly, and he certainly still saw him as deserving of prison, he would have been a hypocrite to not admit that he himself had quite a few friends with questionable morals and histories. 

The problem was the fact that Daniel had struggled to intervene between Olly and Eli. He was strong enough to fend them both off, no doubt, but he had still hesitated. He had even struggled to lift Olly Wang’s body up, something his previous body wouldn’t have even broken a sweat over. It had even taken Eli’s help for them to lift him up.

He was lucky that God Dog and Hostel hadn’t contained any powerful fighters (or, at least, fighters that were in their prime), but his hesitation and weakness wouldn’t be able to help him against the Workers. Fighters like Samuel Seo, Xiaolung, or any of the executives in the 2nd and 1st Affiliates wouldn’t allow hesitation like that to be overlooked. 

He needed to get stronger. His body wasn’t the same as it was before; like Sophia had said, something had stunted his growth. He had to adapt. He couldn’t pull off the same moves his big body could in his past life.

Johan was good, but… 

I need someone faster. 

Someone who will push me, without being scared about breaking me.

Of course, there was only one person he could talk to.

Staring up at the school-turned-home, Daniel was uneasy. Sure, he had done the exact same thing in his last life, coming up to Gun without the other even knowing who he was in his original body, but he had the “recommendation” of his original body backing him up. This time, he was just a stranger walking into a lion’s den.

No, it was more like a dust mite walking into the sun.

He carefully made his way up to the classroom they had met in before. His legs were shaking, although not in fear. It was anticipation. Because after Gun had been arrested, he hadn’t seen the other until Daniel’s first life ended. Any requests to meet after their first were met with a refusal. 

It had been a long time since he had seen his hyung. They hadn’t even interacted in this life yet. 

He opened the door to James Lees’ classroom, trying to listen for Gun’s approaching footsteps, although it was nearly futile. The other was nearly silent wherever he walked, unless he wanted to make a show of it.

The classroom was as bare as it was the last time he saw it. 

“What’s a little girl doing out here? And all alone, too.”

Gun.

Daniel heard him take out a cigarette and light it, exhaling softly. He turned to finally meet the eyes of his former teacher. And, hopefully, his soon-to-be-teacher as well. “I’m Daniel Park,” he said. 

“That doesn’t tell me much,” Gun replied, taking another drag. “Although I don’t think there was ever a Daniel Park who went to this school.”

“How would you know? It’s not like you went here. Only James Lee did.” And at his words, Gun’s eyes finally met Daniel’s.

“Now how do you know that name?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. 

“You’ll have to beat me to find out,” he said. 

“That’s funny,” Gun said. “But I don’t make a habit of just beating up babies. I have a certain level of — ”

Daniel had been expecting that, of course. He knew that Gun wouldn’t simply agree to train some random person off the street. The gangster only knew one language: violence.

And so, Daniel simply had to impress him.

“Now that’s… ” Gun said, staring at the new eyes that mirrored his own. “Interesting. Where in the world did you learn that?”

“From my hyung,” Daniel answered, grinning. 

The fight that followed couldn’t even compare. It was an exchange of blows from more fighting styles and forms than the average person could dream to learn: Kyokushin Karate, Capoeira, Jiu Jitsu, boxing, Judo… 

Nevertheless, while Daniel was leagues stronger than he had been at the beginning of his original training with Gun, he was still confined to the limits of his imperfect body.

“A petite, fragile-looking girl… ” Gun sidestepped Daniel’s kick, grabbing onto the boy’s foot and smashing him into the floor. “That’s how the remnants of Hostel A described the person who took them down. But who would have thought… ” 

Daniel rolled over, narrowly avoiding Gun stepping on his face. He brought a leg out, sending Gun to the floor. He narrowly avoided fully crashing out, but Daniel had already brought a foot out, kicking him across the room and sending him crashing into desks. A trickle of blood came out of his nose. 

As Daniel rushed over, Gun brought a knee up, hitting the other in the stomach. “… That some no-name kid from some no-name school… ”

Gun leaned down and lifted Daniel by his hair, headbutting him. “… Would manage to take down one of the Four Crews without me even knowing about it?” 

Daniel brought his legs up, bracketing Gun’s face. He twisted Gun’s arm, a sickening crack echoing through the room. As he did so, he was constricting Gun’s airflow with his legs. 

Gun struggled to breathe, just barely escaping the hold. He backed up slightly, eyes widening as he saw Daniel leap up into a spin. That move…

He brought a hand up to catch it, as he had done many times, only for the kick to twist around it, landing on his foot. He could feel it break as Daniel brought another kick out. 

Gun lifted his hand to catch the kick, pulling them both onto the ground. They rolled for a few seconds, grappling to be on top, ending with Gun bracketing his hands over Daniel. Gun brought his legs around him, locking Daniel in. He lifted a hand out to punch, but paused. 

The other was no longer in Ultra Instinct. Instead, he was staring up at Gun with blank, glazed eyes. Gun brought a hand out to feel the other’s pulse, and was met with clammy skin and a rapidly beating heart. He looked down, and saw that Daniel’s hands were twitching, as though he wanted to reach out but couldn’t. 

Gun stood up abruptly, running a hand through his hair. He stepped away from Daniel, whose eyes followed his movements slowly. His broken foot ached, and he was forced to lean onto the unbroken one. 

Gun reached into his pocket and grabbed a slightly crushed cigarette pack, putting one into his mouth. “Hey,” he said, throwing his silver lighter down. It bounced slightly as it hit Daniel’s chest. “Light.”

After what felt like ages, Daniel slowly sat up, his breath finally catching up to him. He weakly grabbed the lighter and stood up. Lighting up Gun’s cigarette had become muscle memory, by the time he had been let out of the junkyard. 

“You’re not bad,” Gun said. He exhaled, a cloud of smoke enveloping his face. He glanced at Daniel. Even though their fight had been mostly one-sided, he was still bruised and bloodied. “Say, how do you feel about becoming my successor?”

“Sorry,” Daniel said, voice slightly croaky. “But I have my own plans.”

Gun grinned. “If you want to start a crew, I’ll support you.”

“Not quite,” he said. “I’m planning on destroying the Four Crews.” The only indication of Gun’s surprise was a slight pause before he took another drag of his cigarette.

“Well, you’ll have your work cut out for yourself,” Gun said. “Like I said, you’re not bad. But you could be better.”

“I know,” Daniel said. “That’s why I want you to train me.”

“I’m a bit busy right now. You see, someone took down one of my biggest moneymakers.”

“I’ll make it worth your time,” he said. 

Gun dropped his cigarette, putting it out with his shoe. “I don’t doubt that. If your plan is to take down the Four Crews… ” He reached into his pocket, and threw a small black envelope at Daniel. “Here. Consider it payment for breaking my foot.”

“I broke your foot?” Daniel asked, tucking the envelope into his pocket. He wasn’t expecting to get the black badge this time, but it certainly wasn’t a bad thing. 

“You sound surprised,” Gun said. “You shouldn’t be. If it hadn’t been for those last few moments… Who knows what would’ve happened.”

“So… You’ll train me?” 

“You don’t have much to learn,” he said. “So, I suppose you could consider it sparring.”

A sparring partner… 

Daniel grinned.

“Alright.”

“Now, get out of here. I’ve got shit to do.”

“Yes, Master!”

“… You should be careful calling men that.”

“Hm?”

Chapter Text

“Zoe?” Mira asked, peeking her head into the bathroom. 

She was reminded of the scene she stumbled upon after Daniel and Duke’s performance at the school festival. To a stranger, the sight seemed innocuous and innocent, simply a group of teenage girls hanging out and putting on makeup in the school bathroom before an afternoon of shopping.

But Mira wasn’t a stranger. She was Zoe’s friend. 

“What’s… ”

She was supposed to meet up with Jasmine and Dani in a few minutes to go shopping. She wasn’t particularly close to Jasmine, but once you got past the lying, she wasn’t all that bad to be around. She was just like them: a teenage girl trying to make her way through the unforgiving world. 

“Oh, hi, Mira,” Yui Kim said. She was sitting on the bathroom sink counter, a small compact mirror raised, sandwiched by her two lackeys. As usual, her outfit and makeup were impeccable. Mira had often wished she had the same talent. “Were you looking for Zoe?”

Zoe was standing on the side, holding a heavy-looking makeup bag and juggling various styling appliances, from curlers to straighteners to blow dryers to facial scrubbers. Despite the load, she seemed accustomed to it. “Hi, Mira. Aren’t you going out with Dani soon?”

“Yeah,” Mira said. “Actually, are you sure you don’t want to join? It should be fun.”

“Oh, but Zoe already promised to come shopping with us,” Yui said, shutting her compact with a sharp click! “Isn’t that right?”

“I’m sorry, Mira,” Zoe said, smiling brightly. “But we’ll hang out some other time, okay?”

Mira frowned. Zack was right. Something was going on. But… 

“Okay. I’ll hold you to that promise.” 

“Well, we ought to get going,” Yui said, sliding off the counter. “Come on, Zoe, you can drop my stuff off in my locker.”

“Sure thing, Yui,” she said, moving past Mira. As their shoulders brushed, Mira could feel how tense her body was. 

They all filed out, leaving Mira alone in the bathroom. When she got back to the classroom, she found out from Zack that Dani had to leave suddenly. A friend in need, apparently. 

Things kept piling up. Zoe was almost always unavailable outside of class. Even though she had quit streaming and wasn’t actively modeling, it was like Yui had absorbed all of her free time. She was constantly trailing behind Yui and her two lackeys, either carrying items or paying the bill or any other number of things. 

Despite the horror of it, the runaway scams had been the first time in a while that Zoe had hung out with their group. Of course, it was because Dani was involved, but it had been nice to see Zoe hanging out with them, if only for the night. But afterwards, it was business as usual. 

Mira was worried, of course. But she also knew that she couldn’t involve most of their friends. Zack would go in guns blazing, Jay would probably find a way for Yui to suddenly disappear, and Dani was… Well. Dani was sensitive, and would surely take the bullying to heart, the same way she had taken Jiho’s to heart. 

So, it was up to Mira to help Zoe solve the problem. Or, it was up to Mira and Joy to help Zoe. 

“She’s been a lot more on-edge lately, too,” Joy said, absently munching on a fry. They were sitting in a nearby WcDonalds, after Joy had revealed she knew about the situation. “In Cheonliang she kept trying to get into fights.”

“I was worried about Zack going on the trip, but I should’ve been more worried about her,” Mira said. “Ever since the photo scams, she’s just been… ”

“A little unhinged?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that. Troubled, maybe. She’s been coming to school with a lot more bruises, too.” Mira sipped on her soda, frowning. “Why do you think she hasn’t said anything?”

“Have you ever been bullied, Unnie?” Joy asked. 

“Well, no.”

“Neither have I,” she said, “But Jay has been.”

“Jay?” Mira couldn’t believe it. While Jay was certainly a bit introverted and quiet, he had been nothing but kind to them. 

Joy nodded, staring down at her food. “It was in middle school. Some assholes got blackmail on him and forced him to buy stuff for them, a bunch of brand name clothes, expensive food, luxury cars. It was only when they tried to get Jay to bully another kid that he put his food down, and then the blackmail got out, and… ” she trailed off, but Mira had heard enough.

“That’s exactly how Yui’s acting right now. Is that why Jay knew?” 

“Yeah.”

“Then, how’d he solve it?”

“He didn’t. That's why he transferred to J-Middle, you know.”

“Oh.” Mira and Jay were never particularly close, but she felt an indescribable sympathy and anger on behalf of her friend. 

“And it’s also why I was so happy he made so many friends, with you, Dani, Zack, and Zoe,” Joy said, smiling up at her. “And it’s why I want to help Zoe out. Jay never said anything, but I always felt guilty over never being able to do anything back then.”

“I’m sure Jay doesn’t blame you. You’re his little sister, after all.”

“Maybe. But… I know we can help out Zoe.” They smiled at each other. 

Daniel had tried to visit Jiho in his first life, just a week into waking up, but had been told that he was in solitary confinement for fighting. He had attempted a few more times, but each request was met with a denial. 

This time was no different. 

“I’m sorry, Miss, but it looks like he doesn’t want to meet with you,” the security officer said. Daniel pursed his lips, but simply nodded, standing to leave. Around him, he could hear the juvenile prison’s employees gossip.

 “What a sweet-looking girl… ”

“Is it her brother, do you think? Or maybe a boyfriend?”

“She was trying to visit the kid who got put into solitary recently.”

“That one? I wonder how she got mixed up with a boy like that.”

“What a shame. Juvie isn’t the place for girls like her.”

Daniel moved to leave, but turned back to the security officer. “If you could pass on a message… Please tell him that I don’t blame him.” The officer nodded.

Daniel started to walk out, but before he could open the door it opened itself, revealing Eli Jang and the rest of Hostel. “Eli?” 

“Dani?”

“Oh, you must be here to see Olly, huh? I didn’t realize… ” Eli nodded as Hostel piled into the waiting room. 

“Well, it turns out there’s only one juvenile prison in all of South Korea,” Eli said. “Who are you here for?”

“Oh, just a frien… A classmate.” Daniel wanted to call Jiho a friend, but he could almost feel the disdainful glare from the other boy when he went to use the phrase. Had we ever really been friends?

“Jiho Park?” Eli asked. Daniel nodded. “That person who reminded you of Olly.”

“Yeah,” Daniel said. 

“Hey, why don’t you come say hi to Olly?” Sally asked, coming up next to Daniel. “I’m sure he’d appreciate it.”

“Oh, I don’t know if… ”

“(You saved his life.)”

“I guess I did, but… ” Daniel trailed off, thinking. He didn’t notice the surprised looks shared by Hostel after he successfully understood Warren.

“I think he’d like to thank you himself,” Sally said. “He never really got to.”

“We won’t force you,” Eli said. “But if you ever want to talk to him, I don’t think he’d say no. Like Warren said, you saved his life. That’s not easily forgotten.”

“I’ll think about it,” Daniel said, waving goodbye to Hostel. 

Outside, the sky was overcast and gloomy, with a slight breeze. If it was just a bit darker, it could be mistaken for the day that Jiho Park had died. 

In all of the resources they looked up about bullying, every single one of them recommended confronting the bully. According to them, a person only bullies due to a feeling of ineptitude — when confronted by the person they see as below them, they are therefore confronted by their own weakness, and will back off. 

It made perfect sense to Mira, but Joy didn’t seem convinced.

“I don’t know, I feel like confrontation might just make it worse,” Joy said, as they walked towards the bathroom. Classes had let out and, like most days, Yui had immediately ordered Zoe to follow her to the bathroom. 

“But nothing will change if we just let it happen.” Mira marched right up to the bathroom that they always sequestered away in, opening it with a bang! As usual, the sight inside was Yui and her lackeys on the counter, while Zoe was holding their makeup bags.

“Mira? Joy?” Zoe asked. 

“Hi, Zoe,” Joy said, trailing behind Mira, who was walking right up to Yui.

“Hey,” Mira said.

“Hello,” Yui said. 

They stared at each other for a moment, with Mira just barely having to look down. 

“Is something the matter?” Yui asked, tilting her head slightly. 

“I know what you’re doing,” Mira said. She crossed her arms. “Stop it. Now.”

“‘What I’m doing?’” Yui smirked. “We’re just hanging out.”

“You’re bullying Zoe.”

“Are we bullying you, Zoe?” Yui asked, glancing at her. Joy watched as Zoe’s hands barely tightened on the makeup bags, before she shook her head. 

“No way!” Zoe said. “Yui’s been super kind to me, Mira, Joy.”

“It’s sweet that you’re so worried about her,” Yui said, putting a hand on Mira’s shoulder. “I’m glad that Zoe has such great friends! Maybe we should hang out together.”

“No!” Zoe said, eyes wide. They looked over at her, and she started to fidget. “I mean, I just… ”

“Zoe.” Yui’s voice was stern. “Surely you don’t want your friends to be lonely? They must be jealous, since you’ve been hanging out with us so much. I’m sorry about that, by the way.”

“Stop with the bullshit,” Joy said, stepping forward. She took Yui’s hand off of Mira’s shoulder, causing her to raise a perfectly threaded eyebrow. 

“You’re that little freshman they adopted. Joy Hong, right? Jay’s little sister?” Both Mira and Zoe tensed. 

“So what if I am?” Joy asked, pushing her way between Mira and Yui. “I’m Zoe’s friend, and I want you to stop bullying her. You know who my dad is, right?” She didn’t like pulling the parent card and, since she and her father were currently in a silent feud, she wasn’t even sure that he’d bother… But the threat still hung in the air. “My older brother also has shares in CrystalTV. I can’t imagine what would happen if your channel suddenly got demonetized.”

Her words had definitely gotten to Yui. Joy saw her face pale a few shades, and even her lackeys were eyeing the door, considering leaving.

“Joy, Mira, stop it.” Zoe said, kicking them lightly in the shins. 

“But, Zoe — ”

“I’m serious,” she said, nodding at the door. “It’s not your business, okay? So stop. Yui’s been nothing but kind to me.”

“Then convince us,” Mira said. “Because all I’m seeing right now is just a bully and her victim.”

“Well?” Yui said, looking at Zoe from the corner of her eye. “You heard her. She won’t believe you unless you convince her.”

“Could you give us a moment, Yui?” Zoe asked. Yui huffed slightly, slowly made her way out of the bathroom, looking over her shoulder one last time before exiting.

“We’ll be waiting outside, Zoe.”

The door shut quietly.

Finally alone, Mira and Joy turned to Zoe, awaiting her explanation. “Well?”

“Yui is bullying me,” Zoe said. 

“We know,” Mira said, putting a hand over Zoe’s. “Come on, if we just go tell the teachers — ”

“But you can’t tell anyone.”

“Huh?” Mira asked. “Why not? You’re being bullied.”

“They won’t do anything. It’s not like she’s hitting me or anything. It’s all… ” Zoe shrugged. “Petty stuff. Like carrying bags, or paying for food, or… Whatever. It’s just a friend helping a friend out.”

“Then we get them to stop ourselves,” Joy said, straightening up. “I bet if we got Dani-unnie on this, she’d — ”

“No.” This time, it was both Zoe and Mira who turned the suggestion down. 

“I… ” She looked down at the ground. Even though she had stopped wearing heavy makeup a few months ago, Joy could see the tell-tale signs of high-coverage concealer on her cheeks. Was she covering up bruises? “I don’t want Dani to see me like this. Please don’t tell her, Joy.”

Hesitantly, she nodded. Mira pursed her lips. “I don’t want to involve Dani, but… She was pretty angry when she found out about us keeping Jiho’s problems a secret. How do you think she’ll feel when she finds out we’ve been hiding this from her?”

“I like to think we’re slightly better at keeping secrets than Zack or Jay,” Zoe said, smiling. “I just need to deal with this myself.”

“That’s what Jiho said, too,” Mira said. “We’re just worried, Zoe.”

“Well, I’m not Jiho. I’ve got it handled, Mira. Just trust me.”

Even though Joy and Mira were still hesitant, they agreed. 

Zoe had to buy more bandages when she got home.

“I am almost worried you’re getting worse,” Goo said, squatting down next to where Zoe was curled up on the floor. “I mean, I didn’t even hit you that hard.”

“You… asshole… ” she groaned out, trying to roll away. Her skin hurt. Her bones hurt. Her blood vessels hurt. Hell, it felt like she had lost more teeth than she actually had in the last few weeks. “We’ve been fighting for four hours… ”

“Only four?” Goo took out his phone and, sure enough, it had been four hours since they started. “Wow. You know, maybe this is why Gun liked training all those kids. Time really flies when you’re beating someone into shape!”

Zoe took long, deep breaths, trying to ignore the throbbing in her body. “Or maybe you’re just a sadist.”

“Well, that too,” Goo said. “Say, now that I think about it, Gun’s been pretty busy as well! And I know it’s not ‘cause of the crews, since he basically abandoned them… ” 

Her mentor enjoyed monologuing over her beaten body whenever he could. Zoe suspected it was because his “best friend” (whom Zoe was fifty percent sure was just a figment of his imagination) didn’t enjoy his ramblings, so he satisfied his urge to yap with a person who quite literally couldn’t fight back.

Although she really didn’t mind, since his rants were the only breaks she got during training. “Maybe he got a new ‘pet project,’ too.” Goo often referred to Zoe as his “pet project,” and even though it irked her to be referred to as an animal, she wasn’t yet strong enough to get him to shut up. 

“No way!” Goo yelled, standing up. He put his head in his hands. “Did he really?”

Zoe finally managed to roll over, staring at the sky. Every time they met was at a different location. This time, it was the roof of an abandoned homeless clinic. According to Goo, it was good practice for any situation. Personally, she thought it was an excuse to watch her scramble to find the meeting place after he would text her ten minutes before their scheduled session.

“What’s the big deal?” she asked. 

“The big deal is the fact that he’s been too busy to hang with me! And now he’ll be even busier! Whenever he gets a new pet, all he does is play with them,” he wailed. 

Zoe scrunched her nose at his dramatics. I can’t believe my mentor is literally insane… “You’re acting like you’ve lost a lover.” Even though his face was shadowed, Zoe could see that her words shot through Goo. Yikes.

“If you’ve got time to taunt you have time to fight,” Goo said, stretching to the side. Zoe stiffened, willing her body to sit up. 

“Ah, I just meant — ”

“You’re right, you know,” Goo said, leaning down to pick up Zoe’s silver bat. He refused to let her have it until she could successfully steal it back. He twirled it in his hands. “Unrequited love… really is the worst. But,” he said, bringing a leg down against Zoe’s ribcage, “it is often one of the best motivators.” He stepped down onto her ribs. “Show me how strong your love is, Bat Girl.”

“Don’t… ” she groaned, pushing the leg off. She heaved herself up off the ground, a few worryingly loud cracks accompanying her struggle. “Call me Bat Girl.”

In spite of Goo’s taunts about Zoe getting worse, it was clear every day that she was growing stronger. Her reflexes were faster, her muscles more pronounced, her gait growing more confident. It would have been easy to simply beat the bullying out of Yui. If Zoe was a bit more like Zack, she probably would have.

So Yui was off the hook for a while. The situation with Mira and Joy was still tenuous. Zoe could tell that every day she didn’t resist Yui’s calls was another day closer to them telling someone about the situation. 

But, honestly, neither Mira nor Joy understood the girl world like Zoe did. She had grown up not quite poor, but certainly not rich. She hadn’t started really being noticed by people until a couple of years ago, when puberty hit. And while the attention of men felt better than no attention at all, she quickly learned just how dangerous it could be, both from the men themselves and when their girlfriends came knocking. 

Mira had the benefit of Zack’s protection, and Joy was the sheltered daughter of a wealthy CEO who could choose to never work a day in her life if she so wished. And Dani… Well, Dani might have been through worse than her, but she was still so naive when it came to people. It was up to Zoe to deal with the intricacies of human interaction. 

And so, when she tracked down the root of the rumors being spread about Dani, it was Yui at the center of it all. They struck up a deal: if Zoe agreed to be Yui’s lapdog, she’d put a stop to the rumors. It hadn’t taken long for Zoe to realize that it was her, not Dani, that Yui had a true problem with. 

But, really, she didn’t mind being at Yui’s beck and call every night. She wasn’t all that bad; Zoe had enough money saved up from when she was still streaming and modeling that the small things she was asked to buy didn’t hurt her bank account, and carrying around their makeup or shopping bags honestly wasn’t that taxing, especially after what Goo put her through. The worst part was the sheer amount of time she had to dedicate to Yui, but the other girl seemed more intent on the quality of the bullying than the time spent on it, so she was free after a couple of hours.

It was a small price to pay for Dani’s reputation. And Zoe had no intent on ending their agreement. 

A ping! from her phone interrupted her morning routine. Usually, her friends didn’t bother texting until later in the day. Most of them were late risers, aside from Dani and Mira, but the two girls weren’t the type to text that often.

She opened her phone, surprised when she saw messages from Duke.

Duke Pyeon (PTJ): Hey Zoe! Sorry to suddenly ask this, but I was wondering if you still had your streaming equipment? One of my microphones got messed up pretty bad and I need a last minute replacement.

Duke Pyeon (PTJ): Absolutely no worries if not!

zoe park: yeah of course! when do you need it?

Duke Pyeon (PTJ): If you could bring it to the Dance and Vocal department today after school then that would be amazing!

Duke Pyeon (PTJ): Or if another time is more convenient just let me know.

Duke Pyeon (PTJ): I can also come pick it up if that’s better.

zoe park: nah it’s fine, i’ll bring it today!

Duke Pyeon (PTJ): Thank you so much, you’re a lifesaver!

Duke Pyeon (PTJ): I’ll buy you some candy, what’s your favorite kind?

zoe park: no seriously it’s chill, it’s just sitting in my room anyway. you’re basically doing me a favor lol

Duke Pyeon (PTJ): I’ll just ask Dani, then.

Duke Pyeon (PTJ): Thank you! I’ll be in practice room 5C.

Zoe grinned as she carefully loaded her extra microphone into a bag. Luckily, it wasn’t that large, just heavy, so she was able to comfortably fit it into a reusable grocery bag. 

School went by as usual. For some reason, Eli Jang had taken to sitting with them at lunch, and he kept smiling nicely at Dani. Too nicely… Of course, Dani didn’t notice anything was off, and simply looked back cluelessly as the people around her were filled with jealousy.

Well, that’s part of her charm, Zoe thought. She’s so strong and intelligent, but also so oblivious and naive.

Luckily, it was one of the days that Yui didn’t force her to be a glorified caddy. When it came time to bring the microphone over to Duke, Zoe realized that, with everything that had been happening for the last few weeks, she hadn’t really gone to any of the other departments in a while. 

As she hung outside room 5C to wait for Duke, she got a text from Dani. While her phone was usually on Do Not Disturb, Dani’s messages were put as “urgent” and would always notify Zoe.

dani park: hey! i was wondering if you’re free to hang this weekend?

dani park: i just got two free tickets from lasol for her latest concert 

dani park: you listen to her, right? maybe we could wear matching outfits too. lasol said it was going to be a starry theme.

Zoe grinned down at her phone, starting to text a reply, when she overheard a few Dance and Vocal students gossipping in the room next door. Even though the practice rooms were soundproof, they had cracked the door open, and Zoe could see cigarette smoke wafting out. 

“God, could Mr. Lee shut the fuck up about finding  jobs?”

“I know, right? Not all of us are nepo babies.”

“It’s like they don’t even know what the world’s like.”

“I wish I was one of those Fashion department bitches. Just sit still and look pretty.”

“Ha, like that bitch Dani Park?” Zoe’s fingers clenched around her phone. A small crack appeared on the edges of the screen.

“Didn’t you remember when the ex-PTJ manager sent that thing talking about how she slept her way through the audition? If only I was a chick, dude, life would be so much easier.”

“Hey, bet that shitty tweet DG sent out was in exchange for some… ” The person trailed off, but Zoe could hear the chorus of laughter that followed whatever gesture he must have made.

“I mean, didn’t he even bring her up on stage to perform with Inspirit?” 

“I wonder if she slept with the whole band. Maybe that’s how she got into PTJ!”

“Did you hear about her photo being used to sell stockings and spit? Should we ask her for some?” 

“Shut your mouths before I shut them for you.”

“Who the fuck — ”

The fight was over before it even began. As she stood in a circle of bruised and bloodied delinquents, she picked up the one who had made the most fuss. “Keep Dani Park’s name out of your goddamn mouth, or I’ll do something worse than just beat you up.”

“I’m sorry… ” the delinquent said. He was missing about half his teeth, so it was hard to understand him. “We just were repeating what we’ve heard… ”

“Who else is saying stuff about her?” Zoe’s grip on his collar tightened. 

“Everyone! Just… nobody in the fashion department.” Zoe’s eyes widened, and she threw the sniveling delinquent to the ground, biting her lip.

Yui… You only stopped the rumors in the fashion department, didn’t you? You’re popular enough to get them to all stop. 

Stepping on top of the students she had just beaten up, she sent a quick threatening text to Yui from a fake number (a trick she learned from Kouji), asking to meet at a nearby convenience store. She was about to head over herself, but stopped, realizing that she still had to hand over the microphone.

After quickly greeting Duke, and telling the other to not go into the room next door, she calmly made her way over to the store. She expected herself to be shaking with rage but, after beating up the delinquents, all she could think about was revenge.

As she rounded the corner to the convenience store, she heard voices yelling. Leaning against a nearby wall, she peeked out. It was Yui and her boyfriend, Yong Lee. Zoe had met him briefly, and he had always been hitting on anything with a face and tits. Now, he was yelling at Yui over… 

“It’s nobody? Why the fuck would you get a text from an unknown number unless you were cheating, you slut?” He yelled, grabbing Yui’s hair. He lifted a hand to slap her, but Zoe had already run over and stopped his hand. “Ha?”

“Let go of her hair,” Zoe said. “She spends a lot of time on it in the mornings, you know.” In her periphery, Zoe saw Yui staring in a mixture of awe and fear. 

“Zoe, you — ”

“You bitch!” Yong Lee tried to take his hand back, but Zoe’s grip had been honed by Goo’s hellish training. She brought a leg up, kneeing him in the balls. Immediately, he crumpled, but Zoe wasn’t done. She tugged one of the rings off of his fingers, and used it to slam against the junction between his skull and neck, knocking him out. 

“Oh. My. God.” Yui said, gaping at her boyfriend. 

“Let me know if he bothers you again, Yui,” she said, dropping the ring. It clattered against the concrete. 

“Zoe, I… ” Yui bit her lip. “Why did you help me? After… ”

“After you bullied me and didn’t keep your side of the bargain?” she asked. Yui’s eyes widened, surprised that Zoe had figured out the ruse, but she eventually nodded. 

“If you knew how to fight, why didn’t you just beat me up? I — I would’ve deserved it.”

“Someone once told me that you shouldn’t use violence unless you’re protecting someone,” she said. “You should get cleaned up inside.” Yui scrunched up her eyebrows, staring at the ground. She opened her mouth to reply, but a voice from inside the store called her in.

“Yui Kim?” They both looked over and saw Crystal Choi. She must have seen the whole thing. “Do you want a drink?”

“You should go calm down,” Zoe said. “Just promise to end the gossip. For real this time.” She stared down at Yui. After a moment, she walked over to the door. As Yui was about to open it, Zoe almost missed her mumbled words. 

“… Thanks.” Yui muttered, face aflame. She shuffled into the store, accepting the sweet drink that Crystal passed her. 

Zoe stared at them for a few moments. She turned to leave, when she almost crashed into a black blur.

“Zoe?” It was Dani. She was dressed in running clothes, and Enu was on a leash beside her. Even though it was clear she was just going for a quick jog, Zoe could feel her heart start to beat out of control. “What are you… ” She looked around, concerned, at where Crystal was sitting with Yui. “Did something happen? Do you need help?”

Ah, Zoe thought. I hate this heart of mine. 

“No,” Zoe said. “It’s alright. I already took care of it.”

“What happened?”

“Oh, you know. Girl business. Say, have you eaten yet?”

Chapter Text

“Like What and So Funny had a job interview?” Daniel asked. 

Fuck. 

His hand loosened on his soda, almost sending it crashing to the ground, except Zack, Zoe, and Jay all reached out to stop it, each of them clutching it like their lives depended on it. “Oh. Thanks, guys.” He grabbed his can back, with his friends all puffing out their chests in pride. 

“Yeah,” Eli said, smiling at him. Honestly, Daniel forgot how mesmerizing Eli’s smiles could be. There was a reason he was constantly compared to Daniel in his first life, after all, although his looks were all natural, not some weird mystical second body perk. “They went a few days ago, and officially started working there today.”

“Cool,” Daniel said, but internally he was screaming. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! “I didn’t realize they were streaming.”

“Seriously?” Zack asked. “They’re really popular on Kwitch right now. Not that I watch them, or anything.”

“I’m glad they got a nice job.” Zoe said. “I was pretty worried, even though I know they’re living with you now, Eli.”

“I can’t believe so many people our age already have jobs! Geez, do you think I should start working somewhere, Zack?”

“If you need money, just ask me, Mira!”

“Did they leave for the company yet?” Daniel asked. They were walking to go to a karaoke bar together, but… 

“Hm? I’m not sure, they were supposed to leave some time after lunch… ”

“Okay,” he said, turning around. “Sorry, but I forgot I had to go do something at home. I’ll see you all later!”

“What?”

“Hey, Dani, what are you — ”

But he was already making his way towards the nearest subway station, buying the first ticket to Gangnam he could find. This time, he didn’t have Like What or So Funny’s contact information, and Daniel was not about to bring Eli back into the Four Crews’ mess. 

He made it to Gangnam in twenty minutes, rushing to where he remembered ONE MCN’s building to be. It was just a little after 7 pm. Unfortunately, Daniel didn’t remember when Like What and So Funny originally entered the building to sign the contract. He knew they would be locked up some time that night, but… 

“Shit.” He looked up at the imposing building as normal office workers walked around him. He must’ve stood out in his school uniform, but he wasn’t thinking of anything other than his plan to get inside. “Shit, I forgot the badge.”

The train ride home would be almost another hour wasted, but… 

Daniel looked around, searching for Like What and So Funny’s clothes, but he couldn’t see them. It was already growing dark and with how big MCN’s building was, there was a possibility that they didn’t even enter from the front doors, instead using a side or back door. 

He needed that badge. 

The ride back home was terrifying. While Daniel knew that Like What and So Funny weren’t in immediate danger, he still couldn’t afford to keep making dumb mistakes like that. He should’ve been carrying around the ONE MCN card and black badge everywhere. He should’ve remembered to warn Like What and So Funny about unfair contracts. 

When the train stopped, he rushed out the doors, running to his shabby apartment and grabbing the black envelope. He hesitated, then grabbed a new outfit. He was back at the train station in under five minutes, heading straight back to Gangnam.

When he got back to the building, he found Warren, dressed in his construction worker outfit, halfway to the front doors. Right, I also forgot… 

“(Dani Park?)” Warren’s march was stopped by Daniel’s sudden appearance. “What are you doing here?”

“Same reason as you,” Daniel said. While they had briefly met multiple times, and even fought together, they weren’t that close or anything. But Warren was desperate to get his nieces back and would take any help he could get. 

“(We need) a way in,” Warren said. “I got (kicked out just) now.”

“You need a different look,” Daniel said. He glanced around at the shops nearby, and dragged Warren into the closest clothing store. “Put this on. And this. I think.” He paid for the clothing with the black badge, feeling a bit petty towards Gun. Honestly, he didn’t even explain its usage this time around either.

When they left, Warren was decked out in a nice mixture of patterns that screamed expensive. In Daniel’s eyes, it was the perfect middle between ostentatious and simple. 

(To everyone else’s eyes, it was a monstrosity of color that would never have worked on anyone other than a handsome person like Warren Chae.)

“Hey, (Dani, how is this supposed to) get us in there?” Warren asked, tugging on the tie. His face was flushed in embarrassment. 

“Just follow my lead,” Daniel said, and started to walk straight through the front doors. He heard Warren scramble after him, but didn’t look back. 

Back when he first trained with Gun, he had learned more than just martial arts or the intricacies of how to defeat enemies who were stronger than you. His mentor reveled in pointing out his second body’s various mistakes, including his inability to lie or his horrible espionage skills. 

“It’s like the moment a thought comes up in his head he has to say it out loud,” Gun once said, sitting on top of an old safe and smoking a cigarette on top of Daniel as he did push-ups. “I suppose some would find it charming, but how can you expect to make it in this world without a little bit of dramatic flair?”

Well, Daniel thought to himself, how’s this for dramatic flair?

When they got to the doors, Daniel stopped, gesturing for Warren to open it for him. As he stepped into the building, all eyes moved to him. 

Or, more specifically, to the innocuous little black badge pinned on the white fur coat he was wearing over a semi-transparent black floral night dress, accessorized with a few golden accompaniments (all styled by Jay). His hair was held up by a gold binyeo, leaving just two strands out to frame his face. His white heels (which were already hurting his feet) clicked loudly against the floor as he moved into the building, Warren trailing behind him.

Just like last time, Alexander Hwang came rushing to greet him, sweating profusely. “Welcome, Ma’am! What brings you here, and with a black badge, no less?” He coughed. “Last I checked, no women were given black badges. Where’d you get that one, sweetheart?” Alexander asked, wringing his hands. 

“I… ” Daniel could feel Warren tense next to him. He took a breath. God, I hope he never hears about this. “I got this from my Oppa to have some fun. I heard he’s a pretty big deal around here?”

“Your oppa? What’s his name?” 

“Oh, his name is Gun!”

Alexander’s jaw dropped, as did everyone else’s. “G-G-Gun?”

“So you know him?” Daniel asked, tilting his head. He tapped his handbag against his cheek, showing off the golden Gucci logo. “I mentioned that I was interested in streaming, so he told me to come have a look. But I’m kinda bored with all these questions.” He turned to leave, but Alexander’s hand came out to grab him.

“Wait, Ma’am, I — ”

“Hey,” Warren said, stopping Alexander’s hand before it could clutch Daniel’s fur coat. “Don’t (touch her).” 

“M-My sincerest apologies! I didn’t realize you were associated with Mr. Gun!” Alexander said, sweating bullets. “Ah, what would you like to see? A tour? I could show you all around! We have a state of the art — ”

“Ugh,” Daniel said, putting a hand on his hip. “Oppa said you had a super hot CEO. I wanna talk to him!”

“Samuel?” Alexander asked. “Ah, I can get you Samuel! Let me just… Hey, where’s Samuel?” He hastily harassed a nearby employee for the other boy’s whereabouts. 

“Um, he’s in a meeting right now, President… ”

“That useless piece of… ”

“So he’s not here?” Daniel sighed. “Could I at least wait for him? I need to get out of the lobby, I hate looking at bad-looking men. They give me hives.” He shivered, looking away from the men stationed around the lobby.

Brutal, all of them thought. 

“Of course!” Alexander said. He snapped his fingers, then frantically gestured at Senior Manager Kim to come forward. “This is the head of our security. He’ll take you to Samuel’s office.”

“Thanks!” Daniel chirped, skipping over to the elevator as Manager Kim and Warren walked behind. “So, which floor?”

“His office is on the top floor, Ma’am,” Manager Kim said, carefully selecting 30 on the elevator. 

“Awe, just call me Dani, Sir,” Daniel said. As much as the old man would become a thorn in their back in the future, he was still just a dad trying to provide for his family. 

“I couldn’t do that, Ma’am.”

“Warren, tell him to call me Dani,” he said, crossing his arms. Warren seemed to still be processing what was happening, but nodded. 

“Just call her Dani.”

“See? Even my bodyguard does so!” A bead of sweat rolled down Manager Kim’s forehead.

“It would be polite, Ma’am,” he replied, as the doors opened outside of Samuel Seo’s office. Daniel stepped out first, leisurely meandering around the hallway as Warren and Senior Manager Kim stood right outside the elevator. 

“Ah, you White Tiger workers are all so serious,” Daniel said, grinning. He could see the surprise in Manager Kim’s eyes, but it was quickly covered up. “Hey, how much are Workers paying you?” But Manager Kim stayed silent, eyes fixed on the floor. “It must be pretty good money, to throw away your morals like that.”

In his first life, Daniel had never figured out the secret behind the 4th Affiliate’s elevator trick. After saving Like What and So Funny, he was ashamed to say that he had mostly forgotten about the other victims of the streaming scams. While at this point Manager Kim wasn’t being paid extra to fight harder, he was still the biggest threat in the building. 

“The 4th Affiliate will soon be disqualified,” Daniel said. “I already told Gun about the illegal contracts. Within just a few hours they won’t have the money to pay you guys anymore, so you might as well just tell us where to find the kidnapped streamers.”

But still, Manager Kim wouldn’t budge. 

“You know where my nieces are?” Warren stepped in front of Daniel, lifting his arms into a defensive boxing stance. His face was filled with a cold rage. “Close your — ” 

But before he could finish his sentence, Daniel’s fur coat came flying at his face. His hands instinctively caught it. “(Hey, what are) you — ?” 

He yanked the coat off just in time to see Daniel’s heel smash into Manager Kim’s face. The man’s glasses went flying across the room, shattering against the wall. 

“Hey,” Daniel said, lowering his leg. “Fight back.”

“I’m sorry, Ma’am, but I can’t harm a VVIP,” he said, blood streaming from his forehead. 

Well, now I feel like an asshole.

“Just tell us how to get to the kidnapped kids, and we can end this,” Daniel said. “I’ll even hook you up with a great employer. Best in the business. He’s super young, too,”

“I’m quite satisfied with my job,” Manager Kim said. 

“Tell us (where they are),” Warren said, fists clenched. He started to loosen his tie. 

“I’ll leave him to you, Warren,” Daniel said. “The secret’s in the elevator.” Warren nodded, pressing the elevator open again. He held an arm out to keep the door open so that Manager Kim could enter. “Go in, Manager Kim. I have a feeling he’ll impress you.”

“If that’s what you wish, Ma’am,” Manager Kim said, stepping into the elevator. 

“(What) are you going to (do?)” Warren asked. 

“I’ve got a meeting with someone in here,” Daniel said, grabbing his fur coat back and turning away as the elevator doors slid shut. 

He walked over to Samuel’s office, confidently opening the door. Inside, like last time, was Goo. 

“Woah!” he said, sitting up. “What’re you doing here?” He was sipping tea, leaning back in the out-of-place plush armchair by Samuel’s desk.

“Gun sent me,” Daniel said. Again, Goo spit out his coffee, but Daniel managed to dodge the spray. 

“HUH? That pervert did? Why would he give some random girl his black badge… ” Goo narrowed his eyes, lifting a brow. “Hey, you aren’t some super secret lover, are you? A needy escort? What did you do to make him give you his badge?”

“I broke his foot,” Daniel said. Goo nodded, took a sip of his tea, then spat it out again.

“You’re the one who broke his foot?” he asked. “He won’t stop looking down at it and smiling like a creep! I thought he just had an undiscovered foot kink.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he did,” Daniel said. 

“Only someone truly close to Gun could make fun of him like that,” Goo said, standing and coming up next to Daniel. Goo put his arm around his shoulders.“Hey, be honest, you’re his successor, right? I knew he was hooked on a new pet!”

“I’m not his successor. I just spar with him sometimes.”

“No way! I don’t believe you,” Goo said, frowning. Then he smirked. “Hey, did he ask you to get rid of the Four Crews? He did, didn’t he?” 

Daniel took a shallow breath. Unlike Gun, Daniel had never gotten a good grasp on the chaos that must have gone on inside of Goo’s head. But the blond could sniff out a lie a mile away. “He didn’t. I decided to do so on my own.”

“Hey, what do you say about becoming my secret friend, instead? I promise I’ll give you a way better deal than whatever Gun promised you.” Goo extended his hand, grinning with his eyes closed. 

“Sorry, Goo, but I have my own plans. And Gun didn’t promise me anything,” Daniel said. 

“Ah, what a shame,” Goo said, spinning around. “But I won’t obsess over it. I’ve got my hands full with a pet of my own, anyway.” He moved to leave, and Daniel willed himself to only exhale once he fully left. 

But just before he closed the door behind him, Goo peeked in one last time. “I will say… I wasn’t expecting some random girl to know my name, though. I guess you and Gun must really be close!” With that, he slammed the door behind him, leaving Daniel to stew in worry.

Ah, I’m an idiot… 

Though I don’t remember Goo having a pet last time?

Trying to shake off his worries, Daniel tapped himself into Samuel’s secret room. He gazed at Samuel’s board, noting that he was absent this time. Hm.  

He quickly opened the safe with his badge, delicately folding the illegal contracts and stuffing them into his purse. A glint caught his eye, and he contemplated taking the brass knuckles but decided against it.

The fight with Samuel would be much more fun if he had both, after all. 

As he turned to leave, Daniel paused. Last time, the 4th Affiliates had been his first experience with true defeat. He had failed to save Like What and So Funny, getting knocked out in both bodies. He didn’t manage to defeat Samuel Seo. In fact, he had only played into the other’s plans. 

Exposing the illegal contracts was a part of Samuel’s plan, but not exposing them would allow ONE MCN to continue running like normal… 

He shook his head. He couldn’t afford to be thinking of things like that. He walked back into Samuel’s office, shutting the secret room’s door behind him, and waited.

He wondered how Warren was faring against his future mentor. He had managed to impress him last time… 

“Mama told me to respect my elders,” Warren said as the elevator doors slid closed. “But I can’t respect a man who kidnaps children.” 

Manager Kim’s face was still stained with blood, and he was missing his glasses. One any other day Warren would feel sympathy for him, but he was the blockade keeping an angry uncle from his nieces.

“I — ” Manager Kim’s words were interrupted by his phone ringing. “Apologies, Sir, I can’t miss this call.” He swiftly took his phone out, answering the call. “Hello? Ah, Dad’s going to be a little late today… ”

Warren lifted his leg, aiming a lethal kick straight at Manager Kim’s temple. 

However, the old man simply ducked, and Warren’s foot instead made contact with the elevator’s hard steel. Warren’s eyes widened. He struck his palm out towards Manager Kim’s throat, but he simply swiveled, tripping Warren with a small kick. “Yes, I know, but I’m a little caught up… ”

“Aren’t you ashamed?” Warren said, pushing himself back up. He kicked Manager Kim’s ankle, trying to stop the man, but the hit didn’t seem to affect the older man. “The girls you kidnapped are the same age as your daughter!” He grabbed the man’s free arm and brought his knee against the elbow. 

Despite the attacks, Manager Kim barely reacted, still talking softly into the phone. “Yes, I will, I promise… ” A kick to the nose, barely ducked under. A strike to the throat, staining his white collar a crimson. A headbutt, causing blood to slowly trickle down. “I’ll be home soon. Love you. Bye-bye.” 

He clicked the phone off just as Warren threw another punch, only for his fist to be stopped by Manager Kim’s hand. He felt the manager’s weight press down on his back, forcing him into a bow as the doors slid open. “Apologies, but the security team is on duty right now,” Manage Kim said. 

Once the doors slid shut, the fight continued. It was brutal, a flurry of dirty moves aimed at lethal areas of the body. 

Manager Kim just barely avoided a knee to the groin, throwing a punch out towards —  “Apologies,” Warren said, bringing Manager Kim into a small bow. “The security team is on duty.” 

As the doors closed once more, Manager Kim laughed to himself. “I see what the VVIP meant,” he said, reaching into an inner pocket. “You remind me of how I was thirty years ago.” Warren entered a defensive stance, wary of what the manager was about to pull out.

But Manager Kim just kept rummaging through his pockets, his eyes growing wider in panic. He started to pat down the rest of his suit, unable to find what he was looking for. “Um… ” Warren said, eyebrows furrowing. “(Are you) looking for something?”

Manager Kim wasn’t listening. He had turned over every pocket on his body, but couldn’t find the item in question. Finally, after a tense few seconds, he stood up, looking Warren straight in the eyes. “The VVIP… ” he started, but was interrupted by yet another phone call. “Hello? Ah, yes, Sir… ” His face turned to shock. “Alright. I’ll… start moving them out.” 

He clicked the phone off, turning towards the elevator buttons. Without his glasses, his face was a lot easier to read. “Take your jacket off,” Manager Kim said, throwing his blazer towards Warren, who caught it, confused. He lifted a hand towards the 7 and 8. “And remember: you’re new and naive.” He pushed the two buttons. 

Quickly, they descended as the elevator display turned to “ERROR.” Confused, Warren did as he was told, sliding on the manager’s blazer just as the doors opened, revealing a hallway of imprisoned streamers. “What the… ” Warren said, looking around. 

The streamers were on break, but they were almost all pacing around their tiny rooms. Most of them seemed to understand the futility of banging on the walls when nobody would listen. 

Warren felt his hands clench in rage as various other suited men walked towards them, clearly guarding the rooms. As they reached Manager Kim and Warren, his arm started to raise, only for Manager Kim to put a small hand on his elbow. “This is our new intern,” he said, manipulating his would-be punch into a wave. 

“A newbie?”

“He looks young.”

“What’s with the pants… ”

“He’ll be helping us transport the streamers,” Manager Kim said. “There’s two in particular that are under special consideration.”

“Ah, Manager Kim, we can… ”

“No need,” he continued. “The boss told me to personally oversee all transports.”

“But there’s too many of them.”

“You think I can’t handle a bunch of locked up kids?” he asked. The other White Tiger members shook their heads. “That’s what I thought. Head to the President’s Office and reveal the news.”

“Alright, Manager Kim,” they said, all filing into the elevator. Curious eyes investigated Warren, but they let them go. 

Once they could no longer hear the elevator Manager Kim released Warren’s arm, quickly marching forward. Warren followed, eyes frantically trying to avoid the other kidnapped kids. 

They finally came to a room near the very back. Inside, Warren could see Like What and So Funny, who were clinging to each other on a plush bed. Ignoring Manager Kim beside him, he rushed into the room. “Uncle?” they asked, jumping up. Warren’s arms came to wrap both of them in a big hug. 

“Let’s go home,” he said, squeezing them tight once more before releasing them. He ushered the two of them out, but they stopped at the entrance, turning to Manager Kim. 

“Sir?” So What said, reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a small folded handkerchief. “This is yours, right? You dropped it earlier.” Slowly, Manager Kim took the handkerchief back, tucking it into his blazer’s inside pocket. The two girls bowed to him before walking out. 

Warren turned to Manager Kim, who was staring ahead at the Like What and So Funny. 

He didn’t understand the difference between the clothes that Dani was putting on him, but if it got Warren into ONE MCN, he would wear a maid costume and start barking. “When you get inside,” Dani said, holding up a purple and pink checkered tie, “There will be other kidnapped kids. You won’t be able to save them all.”

“What?” Warren said. “I won’t — ”

“You have to stage a prison break,” Dani continued, ignoring his outburst. “The White Tiger workers only listen to money, and unfortunately, you’re broke. You need to gain the trust of one of them.” Warren pursed his lips. “You just have to make sure that the streamers get to any normal floor of the building. Without the ability to work in the shadows, they’ll be free to escape right out in the open.”

“How do I gain (their trust)?”

“Don’t worry about that,” Dani said. “Just trust your gut.” 

Warren was very worried, but the salesperson was already leading them to the register.

“They won’t notice a couple of kids,” Manager Kim said, walking forward. “But they will notice if we don’t deliver a single person.” 

Warren took a deep breath. He considered leaving the others there. After all, he was being given a way out, an easy escape from a place that he wouldn’t have been able to take on if he was alone. Nonetheless… “I can’t leave.”

“Very well,” Manager Kim said, sliding a foot behind him and entering a strange stance. 

Except Warren had already kicked him in the temple, knocking him down. He moved into another offensive stance, raising a leg, but the manager didn’t move. Warren lightly tapped him with his foot, but it seemed his hit had fully knocked him unconscious. He smiled wryly. “Thanks,” he whispered, moving to unlock the rest of the doors. 

He shoved all of the kidnapped people into the elevator, pressing the first floor button just as an alarm started to play through the building. 

“THIS IS AN AUTOMATED ALARM IN THE CASE OF AN EMERGENCY. FOR YOUR SAFETY, PLEASE LEAVE THE BUILDING USING THE NEAREST AVAILABLE EXIT.”

Daniel tensed as the alarm repeated. This didn’t happen before, he thought. The illegal contracts were heavy in his purse. Should I leave? I suppose I don’t have to meet Samuel for him to be disqualified… 

But as he was deciding, the office’s door opened, revealing a pristine Samuel Seo. “Apologies for my lateness,” he said, walking over and sitting at his desk. “We weren’t expecting a VVIP to visit today.”

“Oh, it’s alright,” Daniel said, smiling. “I haven’t been waiting that long.”

“And I assure you that the alarm is just a precaution,” Samuel said, also smiling. “We’re just having a small difficulty with one of our floors. A small plumbing issue, I believe.”

“I understand,” Daniel said, playing with the clasp on his bag. 

“Still, it may be safer to have this discussion in the president’s office instead. It has better security, and we can’t have our precious VVIP in danger. Would you — ”

“Very well,” Daniel said. He could see thinly veiled contempt appear on the CEO’s face at the interruption. He stood up, holding an arm out. Samuel titled his head. “Well, aren’t you going to escort me?”

“Of course, Miss,” he said. If his acting was any less impressive Daniel was sure his smile would’ve cracked a tooth or two. 

“Well, hurry up,” he said. “I don’t have all day, you know. And my oppa would be upset if I was late.” Samuel’s eyes flashed as he took Daniel’s arm, leading them both into the elevator. 

The ride was mostly silent, although Daniel could feel how tense the other’s arm was, as though he was flexing. By the time the doors opened into the office the alarm had ended.

Inside the office was Alexander Hwang, head shaved and dressed in a poor man’s vision of a rich man. He was on the phone, frantically begging someone, but turned to Samuel as he entered. “You useless piece of shit!” he screamed, walking up to Samuel. “Where the fuck — ”

“You should watch your language around our VVIP,” Samuel said. 

“I don’t give a shit about that!” he continued, waving a hand around. “This was your doing, wasn’t it? I knew it! You’ve been conspiring against me this whole time.”

“I don’t know what you mean, President,” Samuel said. But Alexander wasn’t listening, pacing around the ostentatious floor. 

“All the White Tiger workers left! And the Chairman won’t answer my calls!” he yelled, nervously wringing his hands. “All this work… It can’t go down the drain. Samuel!”

“Yes?” Daniel wasn’t sure why Samuel hadn’t jumped ship as well. Perhaps it was a form of sadism.

“You know how to solve this, right, Hyung?” he asked, switching his tone to a placating one. “This isn’t over. We’re just getting started!” Daniel had forgotten how weird Alexander was. 

“What would you like me to do?” Samuel asked. 

“That girl knows a VVIP, right?” Alexander walked over to Daniel, staring her down. They were about the same height, but Daniel seemed very small in comparison. “You said Gun was your oppa, right?” At that, Daniel saw Samuel’s pleasant veneer still, and his smile grew strained. “Then if we hold you hostage, surely he’ll have to rescue you!” 

“You think Gun will bail you out?” Daniel asked, lifting an eyebrow. “Who do you think sent me to check on you?”

“You’re bluffing!” Alexander said, lifting his nose. “Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you too bad.”

“That’s a shame,” Daniel said, carefully taking off and folding his fur coat. “Because I came here itching for a fight.”

“Sorry, but I don’t hit ladies. We could have some other fun, though,” Alexander said, and Daniel’s face twisted in disgust. 

“I wasn’t talking to you,” he said. He pointed to Samuel. “You’ve always wondered why Gun didn’t approve of you, right? Why he never wanted you?” The other man stayed silent, walking over to the nearby sink. “If you fight me, I’ll tell you why.”

“Gun’s your oppa?” Samuel asked, staring down into the sink. The stream of water rinsed away the makeup on his hands. “I’m afraid that he won’t help you here… After all, that’s the one name I can’t stand.” When he turned back around, his tattoos were all visible again, and Daniel couldn’t help but notice that his shirt seemed even tighter than normal. His heart started to beat faster in anticipation. “Although I hate to waste my time on weaklings.”

“Hyung, don’t kill her! We need her for Gun!” Alexander said, but a glare from Daniel shut him up. 

“You think I’m a weakling?” Daniel asked, delicately placing his fur coat onto a nearby chair. He set his purse down on top. “Only one of us has been acknowledged by Gun, and it sure as hell wasn’t you.”

“No need to keep lying,” Samuel said, pulling out his brass knuckles. He slid one on. “But I’ll treasure the look on Gun’s face when he finds your mangled body.” He slid the second one on, stepping forward, then stopped. 

“What’s wrong?” Daniel asked, eyes turning black. “Getting cold feet?”

“Ha. I guess you really are related to Gun. Hey, when I beat you… ” He grinned, bangs falling onto his face. “Call me Oppa.” 

Ew.

“In your fucking dreams,” Daniel said, as Samuel rushed towards him. 

Samuel fought just as brutally as Daniel remembered. Nothing was off-limits for him, from car doors to exposed wiring to pens as makeshift shanks. Truly, he was vicious. 

The first time they fought, Daniel remembered the heat that flowed through his body, what he came to understand as self-hatred. It was the first time a fight was… How did Samuel put it? “Naturally stimulating?”

Now, though, the fight was… 

“Boring,” Daniel said, stifling a yawn with his hand as he ducked behind a painting thrown by Samuel. “I don’t know why Gun called you vicious. You’re just like… ” He sidestepped a punch, swinging a leg out to crush Samuel’s knees. He fell to the ground, rolling over before Daniel’s second kick could land. “Hm… What’s the word?”

“Shut up!” Samuel was looking more than beaten up. His face was more blood than skin, his arms turning a murky blue and yellow. Daniel hadn’t even hit him that many times (at least, by his standards), yet he was already waning. “Why? Why won’t you — ” He took off his shirt, revealing the full extent of his tattoos. “Get hit?”

“Not a puppy, you’re not cute enough for that,” Daniel said, weaving between Samuel’s punches. “Although you certainly bark a lot.” At the last strike, Daniel slipped one of the brass knuckles off of Samuel’s fist, twirling it between his fingers. “Hey, these match my outfit.” As he went to put them on himself, he saw the display above the elevator moving upward. It was time. 

As Samuel went to strike with his remaining brass knuckles, Daniel gripped his wrist, flipping his upside down. He crashed into the ground, rolling over just before Daniel could smash the abandoned car door against his head. He went to get up, but found his body frozen as Daniel kneeled above him. “You’re Goo’s secret friend, right?” Daniel asked, tilting his head. “I saw that little plan of yours.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Samuel said, struggling against his hold, but Daniel’s grapple was too strong.

Daniel leaned down next to his ear, his long hair brushing against Samuel’s cheek. “You want to become a king. I can help you. You heard about Gun’s broken foot, right? That was me.” Samuel’s eyes widened. 

“You think I’ll just go along with whatever — ”

“Maybe not,” Daniel said, listening as the elevator grew closer and closer. It was likely only a few floors down, now. “But one of the two alternatives is dying.” Quickly, he took the gold binyeo from his hair, pressing it as a warning against Samuel’s jugular.

“And the other?”

“Or,” he said, tilting Samuel’s head up with the binyeo. “You could call me Oppa.” Samuel’s face twisted in revolt. “You should be quick. Old Man Tom will be here soon.” And, just as he said that, the elevator door dinged, signaling Tom’s arrival. 

Alexander, who hadn’t heard the elevator, started up the Jeep. “Hyung!” he yelled, “I’ll save you!” As he pressed on the gas, the car didn’t move forward, once again stopped by Tom Lee.

“Oh?” Tom said, twisting the car around. “I was called in to take care of a couple of pesky kids, but all I find is a nice young lady being harassed! Or… ” He walked over and leaned down, lifting Daniel off of Samuel. He set him down gently. “Is this young love?”

“Not at all,” Samuel said, standing up. “Just… A new arrangement.”

“Ah, you kids call it a situationship now, don’t you?” he said. Tom’s face grew grim, and he put a hand on Samuel’s shoulder. “Baby-bottom, you need to man up before someone else takes your woman. If you don’t, some fucker will come up behind your back and steal her.” He glared at the air, and Daniel could tell he was internally cussing someone out.

“No need for that,” Daniel said. “It’s just a mutually beneficial relationship.” Tom sighed. 

“You could do a lot better than some gangster,” he said. “Ah, but I guess this doesn’t really concern me, does it? All I have to do is take the president.” He turned and grabbed Alexander, who immediately started to cry out. 

“Wait! Hyung, what do you mean? Don’t let him take me! Don’t you remember our past?” But Samuel was already heading to the elevator. He entered, then held a hand out to stop the door from closing, looking at Daniel. 

With a quick look at the retreating back of Tom Lee and Alexander Hwang, Daniel grabbed his abandoned fur coat and purse and entered the elevator as well. They rode down in silence, both exiting without looking at the other. 

Like What, So Funny, and Warren were all waiting for Daniel in the lobby. They bid goodbye to each other, heading back to their respective homes. 

“So, you’ve taken down the 4th Affiliate,” Gun said, placing a piece of sashimi worth over 100,000 won into his mouth. For some reason, he enjoyed taking Daniel out to expensive restaurants after a sparring session. “And took out Samuel Seo.”

“It was a bit easier than I anticipated,” Daniel said, leaning on his elbow. While he enjoyed almost any type of food, sushi had never been his favorite. He preferred greasy, heart attack-inducing meals instead. “In my head, I was preparing for a much more difficult fight… ”

“It’s no surprise that you defeated him,” Gun said. 

“I know. But… ” Daniel was glad that the fight was less taxing than last time. The defeat he faced before still filled him with a sense of rage. But Samuel was… “Disappointing.”

“I suppose someone of your calibre would dislike Samuel’s fighting style,” Gun said, sipping his sake. He had offered some to Daniel, but he had declined rather vehemently.

“Not really,” Daniel said. “It wasn’t his viciousness, just… ” What happened after. He agreed too easily. “I don’t know.”

“How’d he compare to me?” Gun asked, and it took Daniel a second to understand the double meaning. Daniel rolled his eyes.

“I don’t think that should be a comparison, Gun.”

“Shouldn’t you call me oppa?” Gun asked, grinning down at a disgusted Daniel. “After all, that’s what got you into the building in the first place.”

“Please never say that again.”

“Didn’t you say you learned how to control your Ultra Instinct from your hyung? Why don’t you call me that, instead?”

“Just eat the sushi, please.”

Chapter Text

I. Babysitters Club (set post-4th Affiliates arc)

“What are you doing here?” Zack asked, pointing accusingly at Johan. They were standing outside of Sally Park’s home, each holding large amounts of shopping bags. 

“Is there something wrong with me being here?” Johan retorted. “What, not happy to see me?”

“No, dude, it’s just… ” Zack’s lips did a weird routine, switching between pursed to smiling to frowning. 

“Eli asked me to babysit Yenna,” Johan said, answering the unasked question. 

“What? But Eli asked me to babysit! Did he double book or something?” Zack waved his hands around, the shopping bags swinging dangerously in the air. 

“I didn’t.” Eli suddenly appeared in the doorway, causing Zack to jump back and Johan to just barely flinch in surprise. “Like What and So Funny got invited to hang with some friends, Sally, Warren, and I are trying out a new business that Dani recommended, Max and Derek are working, and the girls are all busy with something, so I didn’t have anyone else to babysit her.”

“Why both of us?” Zack asked. 

“Because I didn’t trust only one of you,” Eli replied, smiling congenially. “Last time I let either of you babysit alone, it didn’t end so well. But I’m afraid I have no other choice than to hope that your combined abilities will suffice until one of us gets home.”

“Wha — I can handle Zami!” Zack said. 

“It’s Yenna,” Johan quipped, purposefully turning his head when Zack glared at him.

Eli ignored their comments, handing Johan a spare set of house keys and leading them into the house. “Just be sure to follow her nap schedule. She’s been fussy about it lately, but don’t let her skip it or she’ll be moody all day. And don’t feed her too many sweets, we’ve been trying to get her to try new flavor profiles. Oh, and… ” 

The list went on for a long time. 

“Alright, that should be all,” Eli said, stopping at the living room. Yenna was playing with her Sailor Moon toy, waving it around in the air as a greeting. “You remember all of it, right?”

“Yep!” Zack lied. Johan nodded. 

“I’ll be back by five,” Eli said. “Don’t burn down the place. And don’t lose Yenna.” With one final glare, and a charming smile and kiss for his daughter, he headed off. 

Zack and Johan stared at each other. “So, what’s the plan?” Zack asked. 

“Shouldn’t you have a plan, seeing as you were so insistent on watching her alone?” Johan replied. They stared at each other, neither willing to speak, until Yenna burbled at them. 

“What’s wrong, Zami?” Zack kneeled down to look at Yenna, who babbled nonsense again, waving her hands at the mountain of bags that Zack and Johan had brought. “Oh, do you want to try out your new toys?” He rifled through the bags, triumphantly pulling out a miniature drum set. “How do you feel about this?” He started to “play” the drums, but Yenna turned away, making more grabbing motions at Johan’s bags instead. 

Stifling a smile, Johan opened up one of his bags, taking out a miniature kids piano. “How’s this, Yenna?” He started to play Mary Had A Little Lamb on the piano, although the tune was rather questionable due to the limited keys. But Yenna simply harrumphed. 

Zack wasn’t about to be upstaged, and so he started to play Hot Cross Buns on the drumset. The two different melodies clashed, not helped by the fact that neither of them were very good musicians. “Come on, Zami, don’t you want to play — ”

“Bah!” she yelled, waving her hands around. “Gah!”

“Are you hungry?” Zack asked, setting down the drums and digging into another bag. He pulled out a small snack bag, which bragged on the packaging as being perfect for toddlers. He offered it to Yenna, who once again smacked it away. 

“What about this, Yenna?” Johan offered up a small fruit snack-like treat, already opened. To Zack’s horror, Yennan quickly grabbed it, popping it into her mouth with a happy hum. Johan was still observing as Yenna ate, yet Zack still felt like his small smile was mocking him. 

The trend continued for most of the day. Zack would offer up a toy, an activity, food, anything, and Yenna would soundly reject him, oftentimes very vehemently. Her small hits somehow were more painful than any punch he’d experienced before. Yet Johan was given the grand honor of being her favorite playmate, her meal buddy, her favorite.

 “Yen — ”

“BAH!” she yelled, throwing a small playing block at him. She giggled when it slammed into his nose. “GAH!”

Zack took a breath, exhaled. He could feel Johan stare, but didn’t look at him, instead simply kneeling down to grab the fallen block. He propped it up next to Yenna, and then turned and moved into the next room. His head fell into his hands, and he slid against the wall, sitting down.

He heard Johan move in the other room, presumably cleaning up some of the other messes that Yenna had created. After a few moments, Johan appeared, sitting down next to Zack. 

Neither said a word, with only the sounds of Yenna playing in the other room between them. 

It was Zack who broke the silence first.

“I just… ” Zack bit his lip. He wasn’t sure what to say. It always felt like his conversations with Johan ended with either a fight or a new misunderstanding occurring. It was nothing like the easy rapport he had with Mira, where she seemed to instinctively understand whatever he was too cowardly to say. “I don’t get why she hates me.” 

After Johan went missing, Zack couldn’t really remember what happened in the next few months. He remembered flyering with Mira, walking through unfamiliar streets, hoping to catch a glance of the other boy. His parents even tried to create a curfew for him, one that he never followed, since Zack was far safer at night than Johan would have been. 

“It’s the hair,” Johan said. 

“Huh?”

“My hair must remind her of Eli,” Johan said. After his mother’s corneal transplant surgery, one of the first things she had done was cut Johan’s hair, which now was styled very similarly to Eli’s. 

“Oh,” Zack said. He felt a bit dumb, getting all emotional about Yenna not liking him. 

“Yeah.”

Zack never really knew what to say to Johan. Even now, after everything between them should have been cleared up, there was an unclear gap between them. That conversation before he left, the reason he never came home, the fact that it wasn’t even Zack who managed to find him… 

It was just a lot to cover.

“I’m enrolling in high school,” Johan said. Zack turned to him in surprise.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.” Johan was staring at the opposite wall, where an eclectic collection of gacha toys were displayed. “I’m still deciding, but… It might be nice to know a few of my future classmates.”

“You’re coming to J-High?” he asked, feeling a bit dumb when Johan nodded. Of course he would be returning to high school, now that he wasn’t starving on the streets and trying to get money for his mother. 

“Dani’s the one who suggested it, actually.” Against his will, Zack’s lips upturned at the name.

“Yeah? That seems like something she’d do. You two also seem… ” pretty close, he thought. 

“Well, she’s not the only reason I’m going. Although she is part of it. I never thought I’d be where I am right now, and it’s because of Dani.”

“She is pretty nosy,” Zack said. If he had said that in front of any of his other friends they would’ve reprimanded him, but Johan just smiled. 

“She is. When we met, I thought she was sticking her nose where it didn’t belong.”

“Then why’d you keep talking to her?” 

“Because she reminded me of you,” he said, finally turning to Zack and meeting his eyes. For some reason, Zack’s face felt a little hot at the intense stare. 

“Me?”

“Nosy yet oblivious, more bark than bite… ” he said, and Zack glared. 

“If she reminded you of me so much, why… why didn’t you just ask me for help? It’s not like I ever moved. You could’ve… ” It felt wrong to blame Joha for all that occurred between them, but Zack couldn’t help it. Just like every time before, he simply didn’t understand.

At his question, Johan just looked down. “I considered it, you know. Sometimes I would even get to the street. Or even right outside the door. But something always stopped me. I guess… Sometimes it’s just easier to accept help from someone who reminds you of a friend.”

Zack nodded at that. 

They sat in silence for a little bit longer, the air between them just a bit lighter than before. They hadn’t gotten through everything, not even close, but… 

Well. It was a start.

“Well,” Zack said, once again breaking the silence. “As much fun as it’ll be to have you at J-High, you better not be thinking you’re still a love rival! Mira’s mine!” He stood up, pointing at Johan, who was still sitting.

Johan laughed at that, also standing. 

In the other room, Yenna was still babbling away, and so Zack started to walk to the door. But Johan’s reply stopped him. “I think it should be Mira’s who’s afraid of a love rival, not you.”

Huh?

“Wait, what do you — ”

But Johan wouldn’t explain himself.

II. Sally’s Day Out (set post-Hostel arc)

It was Sally’s first time hanging out with girls her age since Heather’s death. As Big Mama, she was used to taking care of other, younger runaways, not… well. Girls like Zoe or Mira. Girls who were, by all means, very normal people, not involved with the crews or anything. Girls whose biggest worries were high school exams and boys and… 

Anyway, it’s not like Sally was nervous about hanging out. Not at all! She had hung out with plenty of girls in middle school. She knew how to hang out. Like What and So Funny had told her all about the latest trends and fads and what’s normal to do or say and what’s not. Of course, she already knew them, but it was nice to have a little reminder,

One of the biggest parts of hanging out was her look. Sally had opted for a chic outfit with a miniskirt and oversized sweater that her daughters picked out for her, a far cry from her usual t-shirt and jeans. Her hair had also been pulled into a half-up, half-down style with the bangs let loose to frame her face. She hadn’t really bothered with how she looked in years (Warren certainly didn’t care if she was in jeans), so it felt a little… strange, to be wearing stuff like that. 

She was switching between tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and untucking it in her reflection in a shop’s window when the other girls finally arrived. “Sally, hey!” Mira yelled. 

“Ah, hey!” she said, untucking the strand behind her ear as Mira and Zoe met her on the sidewalk. “How are you two doing?”

“Ugh, I’ve been so busy lately,” Zoe said. Sally was a bit intimidated by her, to be honest — not in a bad way, just… Well, she seemed awfully outspoken and was very, very pretty. She wouldn’t have been out of place in her old middle school, if not for her more tomboyish style.

“I’ve been good,” Mira said. She was a lot more approachable to Sally, with her softer appearance and voice. She reminded her a lot of Heather, to be honest. “It’s been so long since we’ve been able to just hang out. Though I’m sad that Dani and Joy couldn’t join us. I was thinking we could have a whole girls’ day… ”

“It would’ve been nice to see Dani,” Sally said, feeling a bit like she was interjecting. But the other two girls simply nodded, smiling at her. 

“It’s a shame she was busy,” Mira said. “It feels like forever since we’ve gone on a girl’s day out.”

“Well, no use crying over it. Let’s go shopping!” Zoe said, tugging Sally and Mira into the nearest store.

They ended up going into nearly every store on the street, trying on different outfits and taking more selfies than Sally had ever taken in her whole life. Zoe taught her how to spot what clothes are actual good quality (“You’ve got to look for the actual stitching — if it’s coming apart on the rack, it’ll come apart on you”) and Mira taught her how to find all of the good discounts online for clothes.

About midway through their adventure, Sally started to feel quite hungry. She hadn’t eaten that morning, as her stomach had been just slightly upset (for no reason at all), so she was running on the fried chicken dinner that they got last night, which… 

Well. She didn’t need a high school diploma to know that it wasn’t exactly the healthiest.

She tried her hardest to quell her hunger, not wanting the day to end, but a particularly loud rumble while Zoe was pointing out their next destination ruined her efforts.

“Ah,” she said, face flushing. “Um.” 

But instead of looking judgmental, Zoe and Mira simply suggested going to a nearby restaurant for lunch, instead. 

“We come here a few times a month,” Mira said as they sat down at a table. “They have a ton of student discounts so it’s really affordable.”

“You should totally try the bibimbap,” Joy said, pointing out other items as well. Sally felt her lips pull into an unconscious smile. They were all hunched over their menus, picking out the best deals, when Mira noticed someone coming in.

“Crystal?” Sally looked up and — wow. Okay, so, she didn’t consider herself particularly attractive, but neither did she think of herself as ugly. But the girl that Mira was beckoning over? 

It was the same kind of ego check that seeing Dani Park was. 

“Oh, hi, Mira, Zoe,” the new girl said. Despite the location, she was dressed in a very fancy (and likely designer) suit, hair perfectly styling in a “just woke up like this” way. Sally tried not to feel intimidated, but she was also very aware that she was wearing the same clothes she’s had since middle school. “And… ”

“This is Sally,” Zoe said. “And Sally, this is Crystal, the older sister of one of our classmates.”

“Oh, uh, nice to meet you,” Sally said. Ugh, why did I stutter?!

“Nice to meet you as well,” Crystal said, except Sally could sense her… Well. Not quite awkwardness, or aloofness? Hm.

“Would you like to have lunch with us?” Mira asked, gesturing to the fourth chair at their table. 

“Oh, well, I — ”

“What a coincidence to see you here, Crystal,” a grating voice said. They all turned to see a brown-haired boy with too much hair gel entering the restaurant. “I didn’t realize you like places like this!” Sally peeked at Crystal from the corner of her eye, and her barely noticeable flinch at the new guy’s presence.

“Who’re you?” Zoe asked.

“I’m Kitae Kim,” he said, extending a hand. Zoe just stared, while Mira, taking pity on him, went up and shook it. Sally noticed his eyes lingering on her slightly unbuttoned top. “I believe we met when my sister went to Lotte World for a field trip?”

“Oh,” Mira said. Her smile was strained. “Right.”

“I actually just stopped by to say hi to them,” Crystal said. “I’m a bit too busy to eat a full meal.” But as she said that, her stomach let out an intense gurgle. Sally could see the barest hint of pink appear on her cheeks.

“Surely you can spare some time to — ”

“Actually,” Sally cut in. Their eyes all turned to her. “We were just meeting here for convenience sake. We’re planning on going back to my place for some homemade food.”

“Well, why don’t I — ”

“My mom doesn’t like me having men over,” she said. “Sorry.” Kitae tried to come up with some more excuses, but she simply shook her head. 

“I suppose it can’t be helped, then,” Zoe said. They all started to grab their things. “Bye-bye!” They left the restaurant, pushing past an awkward Kitae. 

Outside, the four girls walked a bit before coming to a stop outside the train station. They lingered for a moment, unsure of how to end the hangout, especially after the awkward run-in with Kitae.

“Thanks,” Crystal said, turning to Sally. “I swear he’s been stalking me.”

“Stalking you?” Mira and Zoe asked.

“Well, not really,” Crystal said. “Hm. Maybe. But honestly, without evidence I can’t really do anything. And he seems harmless, just annoying.”

“Harmless men can turn dangerous,” Zoe said, frowning. “If you ever need some help — ”

“Thank you for the offer, but my father already got me a bodyguard,” she said. 

“Well, if you ever want to just talk, we’re here,” Mira said. Zoe nodded. Sally also nodded, although she wasn’t exactly sure if she could be counted as part of the offer, seeing as she had only just met Crystal.

“I appreciate it,” Crystal said. They all stood there.

A few feet away, huddled behind a trash can, Like What and  So Funny could only barely hear the girls’ conversation. They held up a newspaper to hide their faces, four holes cut out to peer at the group. 

They saw Sally’s mouth move, but the words were said so quietly that not even Mira, Zoe, or Crystal had heard it. Sally repeated what she said, just slightly louder, but still extremely murmured. 

“Come on, ask to hang out again,” So Funny whispered. She bit her nails. 

“Mira, Zoe, Crystal, would you… ”

“Come on!” Like What whispered, clutching So Funny.

“Maybe, possibly… ”

“Please, please, please!”

“Oh, we’ll miss the train if we don’t go now!” Zoe said. “Hey, let’s meet up next week, Sally?”

“YES!” Sally, Like What, and So Funny all screamed. 

“I mean,” Sally said, coughing. “That would be cool.”

III. Those Left Behind (set post-Hostel arc)

“Play nice,” the prison guard said, as they stopped at the front of an innocuous cell door. 

The guard’s grip on Jiho’s handcuffs was tight, even as he reached down to unlock them. They fell to the floor with a small metallic thump, and Jiho twisted his wrists, free for the first time in two months. “Your cell got a newbie while you were gone, so don’t go pulling any crazy shit like last time.”

“Yes, Sir,” Jiho said, staring blankly ahead as the guard slid open the cell’s door. Inside were the same people who had landed him in solitary, with the exception of the newcomer. Eyes tracked his movement as he sat down in a corner, not bothering to fold his legs up. 

He was reborn; he had no need to hide like before.

He could tell that the others were nervous around him. Well, last time they saw him he had taken out Darius, so it wasn’t all that surprising. Although… 

“So, you’re Jiho?” the newbie asked, scooting over to him. He looked like the type of guys that Jiho used to run from if he even caught a glimpse of them. “I’m Olly Wang, nice to meet ya!”

It was clear that in Jiho’s temporary absence, Olly had solidified himself as the head of their room. Darius was no longer lounging about like he owned the place and Wally was still murmuring to himself against the wall. Jiho took a cursory glance at his rank, internally raising an eyebrow at the blue color. 

Just drug offenses? 

Then again, color ranks weren’t everything in prison. They were just a surface-level threat assessment; what really mattered were the actual actions. 

Jiho shook Olly’s hand, not too keen on immediately pissing him off. His plans didn’t necessarily include Olly, but it was clear from his body that he was a strong fighter. “When did you get here?” he asked.

“Oh, just a few days ago,” Olly answered, grinning widely. “I was disappointed that I didn’t get to meet all of my roommates!”

“Is that so,” he said, eyes wandering around the room. It was cleaner than he remembered it being. 

“Yeah, and Jake was telling me all about you,” Olly said. Jiho felt himself momentarily freeze, and tried to brush it off as a small shiver. 

“He did?” he asked, making eye contact with Olly. The other boy’s face was inscrutable. 

“All good things, don’t worry,” Olly said, reaching a hand out and patting Jiho’s shoulder. Instinctually, Jiho swiped his hand away. Any other inmate would have taken that as a challenge, but all Olly did was put his hands up in mock surrender. “Ah, not a fan of touch? Sorry, man.”

“It’s fine,” Jiho said. “Just don’t do it again.”

“Will do.” And with that, their cell sat in an uneasy silence until lights out were called. 

Having Olly in the cell didn’t change much of Jiho’s plans. The other boy didn’t even bat an eye when Jiho became the head of their room, only grinning wryly when he was told to shave his eyebrows off. Jiho quickly learned that he used to be the head of one of the Four Major Crews, yet his demeanor made him seem more like a kid who got wrapped up in something far over his head. He didn’t start fights, was polite, and didn’t even bother to try and establish himself in the hierarchy. 

Jiho didn’t know his game plan. And he didn’t like that one bit. But, at the very least, he wasn’t causing problems for him. 

Except for his apparent relationship with Jake Kim. 

“Never thought I’d see you in here,” Jake said, settling down next to Olly, who only inclined his head.

Jiho gritted his teeth. He had been trying for weeks to keep Jake’s attention, and yet Olly wasn’t even taking advantage of it.

“Always figured I’d see you, though,” Olly said. The whole canteen went silent, awaiting Jake’s revenge, but all he did was laugh. 

“Yeah, I had this shit coming for me.”

“Don’t need to tell me twice.” The two shared a wry grin. Jake held up his milk carton in a mock toast. 

After that, Jiho made sure Olly’s life in the cell was as difficult as possible. He was put on bathroom duty, on multi hour watchdog duties, made to fight in the cell fights (which he would always end up beaten up in). Jiho couldn’t believe that such a pathetic boy had captured the attention of Jake Kim. 

What was so special about men like him? Was it in the hair? In the body? In the mind? Or was it some star they were born under, given the luck of power as a birthright.

Jiho didn’t know. His plans were being finalized. Whatever reason Olly had for not putting up a fight, whatever past he had prior to entering juvie, didn’t matter. 

Except… 

“Say that shit again,” Jiho said, coming chest-to-chest with Darius. He could feel his whole body shaking.

“Um, I heard it from someone in cell 3,” Darius asked, wringing his hands nervously. “The reason that Olly’s in prison is ‘cause of Dani Park. She even visits him, sometimes.”

Dani.

That’s who it all led back to, in the end. Dani Park. Jiho couldn’t escape the name, no matter where he turned; Dani’s face never left his subconscious, sitting at the back of his head. 

Waiting. 

“When’s Olly’s next visit time?” Jiho asked. 

It was in just a couple of days. Jiho put his plans for escape on a temporary halt. This was more important. 

He had his lackeys create an isolated area for them during workshop hours. Jiho wanted this talk to be solo. To be personal. So, a simple interrogation would do.

“How’re you liking juvie so far, Olly?” he asked, sliding up to the bench next to Olly.

“Not too shabby,” Olly said, eyes not leaving his project. “Honestly, I was expecting a lot worse.”

“Me too,” Jiho said. 

“A lot more memories here than I expected, though.”

“Is Jake one of those?”

“Kinda,” Olly said. Jiho wanted to kill him. 

“I get that. I also have a lot of memories. Although, most of them are from outside.”

“Like Dani Park?” Jiho’s smile froze. He willed his heart to slow its beating. 

“Well, I suppose I relate to you, in that way. She’s also the reason I’m in here.” Olly finally looked up from his project, his eyes startlingly empty compared to the semi-amused state they seemed to always be in.

“Oh?”

“I guess you don’t know,” Jiho said. “Well, there’s a reason I’ve got this color band.”

“So, you tried to kill her.”

“That’s what she said.” 

“So you didn’t?”

“Well,” Jiho said. “What if I did?” Olly turned silent. Suddenly, he stood up. He towered over Jiho’s small form.

“You know, you remind me of myself,” Olly said. “Some kid who wanted to be something greater than he actually was.”

“You don’t know shit,” Jiho hissed.

“I think I do know.”

“You really, really don’t.”

“All you wanted was just a lick of attention.”

“You don’t know shit about me,” he sneered. His bangs, overgrown and oily, sat heavy over his eyes. He stared up at Olly, whose laid back demeanor hadn’t ceased. 

“I won’t bother with trying to convince you. That shit never worked for me. But just know that the only reason I’m still here is sheer luck.” Olly stepped forward. Jiho, the New Jiho, did not take a step back.

“I’m not afraid of you,” he said. He could feel the shank in the inner lining of his pants. His fingers twitched. 

“Oh, you shouldn’t be,” Olly said. “I promised someone I wouldn’t fight anymore. But I didn’t say anything about the others.”

Jiho narrowed his eyes. We’ll see.  

At his next visitor time, Olly was uncharacteristically serious. 

“Eli,” he said, meeting eyes. “Watch out for Dani Park.”

“Dani’s our friend — ” Warren started, but a look from Olly cut him off.

“She’s got quite a few enemies in here, you know,” Olly said, voice low. All of Hostel tensed. “She can take care of herself, but… ”

“Don’t worry,” Sally said. “We’ll look out for her. She saved one of us, after all.”

“You might need to do more than just look out for her.”

“We will,” Eli promised. “But, Olly, if something’s wrong… ”

“Nothing’s wrong,” he said. “Not yet, at least.”

“But if you need anything — ”

“Just look out for Dani, okay? I’ve still gotta pay her back.”

IV. A Day In The Life Of The Park Family (set pre-4th Affiliates arc)

Before he moved to Seoul, Daniel had been spoiled. Despite being poor, his mother had always made a point to never trouble Daniel with their money problems. If they didn’t have enough food for two, she’d skip a few meals to ensure that he had a full three. If they didn’t have money for birthday presents, she’d sell some of her clothes or something from her meagre jewelry collection to compensate. Even after moving to Seoul and attending J-High, she refused to use even a single cent of the money Daniel would send home, saving it all for him to use for college or buying a house or some other far-off goal. 

In his first life, Daniel never pushed his mother to take his money. She always managed to convince or distract him from the topic long enough to make him forget his goal in the first place. But now, as an on-and-off fit model with more than enough money to support both him and his mother, and a time traveler with more experience on how to get his mother to spend his money, he knew the way to subtly splurge his money on his mother: shopping trips.

“Mom, what do you think about this?” Daniel asked, holding up a nice cashmere sweater. He had decided on going only into stores with hidden price tags, convincing his mom that they were simply small thrift shops.

“Oh, what a nice color,” she said, rubbing the fabric between her fingers.

“You think so?” 

“Oh, yes,” she said. Daniel nodded, setting it into their (very full) shopping basket. “Ah, Dani, do you need help holding those?” She reached out, intent on grabbing the basket from him, but Daniel easily evaded her.

“They don’t really weigh anything. Plus, I’ve been working out!” He flexed dramatically, making his mom giggle. 

They passed by a busy cafe, one that Daniel had visited with his friends a few times. He was reminded of the first time his mother had visited him in his new apartment, her nervousness at ordering an Americano, the way her face lit up while drinking it. “Hey, let’s go get some coffee,”

“Oh, are you sure?” she asked. 

“I’m pretty thirsty,” Daniel said. As expected, she immediately agreed. 

They walked into the coffeeshop, waiting a good fifteen minutes before even being able to order. When they got up to the counter, Daniel hastily ordered the most expensive items on the menu, and put down his card before his mom could even think to pay for herself.

He got a rather large stink eye for that maneuver, but he mainly felt pride at being able to treat her to a nice coffee. 

They chose a cute spot by the window, slightly obscured with fake plants. Daniel quickly got up once his name was called, taking both drinks back to their table. As he handed his cup to his mom and picked up his own, he blinked as his mom let out a small gasp. Turning his cup over, he saw a phone number with a hastily scribbled “Call Me.”

“Oh, my little Daniel is so popular!”

“Ah,” Daniel said, scratching his cheek. “They must’ve mistaken this for someone else’s.”

“No way,” she said. “That cute boy couldn’t take his eyes off of you!”

“Well, it’s whatever.” But Daniel could feel how flush his face was, and it seemed like his mom wasn’t about to let it go.

“Ah, but I guess he isn’t really your type, hm?”

“What do you mean, Mom?” he asked, but midway through his sentence his mom’s phone went off. An incoming call lit up the screen, from a name that was just barely obscured. 

“Oh, sorry Daniel, let me just… ” His mom rejected the call, and typed on her phone for a bit, presumably to explain.

However, while she did so, Daniel’s mind was running a thousand miles a minute. His mom didn’t have many contacts on her phone, really just Daniel, their relatives, and her boss, but this person was close enough to her to feel comfortable calling at any time of the day. And if it had been her boss, Daniel knows she would’ve immediately picked up. If it had been their relatives, her face wouldn’t have been so happy while typing out an explanation. 

His mind drifted back to his first life. Suddenly, he remembered coming back to his mom’s place to see her, only to discover that she was dating someone. But he couldn’t, for the life of him, remember who the mystery man had been.

Finally, his mom put down her phone. “Sorry about that, Dani, I — ”

“Is that your boyfriend?” he asked. His mom’s eyes went wide.

“Oh!”

“Who is he? What’s his name? His address?” Daniel took out his phone, clicking on the notes app. “My friend can do a quick background check.”

“Daniel, I’m not dating anyone,” she said, but Daniel could see through her nervous smile. “But how can I be sure you’re not dating anyone?”

“What?” he asked. “No, I want to know who you’re dating, Mom!”

“Don’t think I don’t know you’re interested,” she said. “That barista might not be your type, but I know who is.”

“Mom, just tell me who you’re dating.”

“What was his name? EG?”

“It’s DG, Mom, but — ”

“Ah, right, DG! I should get to know my future son-in-law’s name well.”

“Mom, stop trying to change the subject! Tell me, who’s your boyfriend”

“Ah, stop bothering your mother about silly stuff like that! I want to know all about your dating life. Have you had your first kiss yet? What about all those boys you hang out with?”

“Mom!”

Chapter Text

Getting out of juvenile prison was weird, to say the least. It seemed like things had only gotten more intense since his absence. God Dogs were destroyed and Hostel was no longer even in the game. 

Jake also knew that the Big Deal that Sinu left him… It was splintering apart under his own hands.

But he couldn’t afford to think about that. No, what he needed was to get Sinu back. And Vivi’s Club was his only clue, for now. 

It was strangely easy to make his way inside. It seemed that the Workers were a lot more lax in their security than they let on.

He had a simple plan: find Old Face, beat him up for betraying them, then beat him up some more to find out where the fuck Sinu was. 

After making his way through the crowd, Jake sat down at the bar, ordered a (very overpriced) drink to get the bartender off his back, and watched. It was easy to locate Old Face and his ostentatious display of betrayal. He was truly living it up, not a single hint of realization that karma was about to bite him in the ass.

He watched in amusement as he managed to get his ass kicked by Vasco with barely any fight. Just as he set down his drink and prepared himself to go confront him, Jake felt a delicate hand on his forearm hold him in place.

“Who—” Jake turned, ready to tear into the person touching him, when they locked eyes and he felt his anger dissipate.

The owner of the hand had long black hair streaked with blonde curled away from her extremely attractive face. She was wearing an emerald top with a black skirt and an emerald bag.  Jake had seen many gorgeous women before, but never one like that, much less one that had hit on him. 

“Are you free?” she asked, her voice slightly deeper than he expected. “I’d love to share some info.” 

She wants my number!

“Sorry, but I’m looking for my boyfriend,” Jake said. Inwardly, his heart was breaking at the thought of turning down the first girl who had been flirting with him since getting locked up. 

“Which is why you should just follow my lead,” she said, leaning in close. “You’ll find that I might know where to find exactly what you’re looking for.” Jake could feel her breath on his neck, and a shiver ran down his spine.  

Focus on Sinu, Jake!

“I’m not—”

“Excuse me,” a voice cut in. Jake looked up, surprised to see the Chinese bodyguard from Workers standing right next to them. 

Shit. I didn’t even notice him.  

“Yes?” the girl said, tilting her head as though to say Why the fuck are you bothering me?  

“Apologies for our late welcome,” he said. “But Miss Vivi would like to personally invite you to her private room.”

Jake tried to school his face into a stoic one, but his heart was racing. This girl was his way in. He wasn’t sure how, exactly, Vivi was involved with Workers, but the badge on the bodyguard’s ring was his best bet so far.

Except, without missing a beat, the girl said “No thanks.” Jake wanted to shake her. 

“I really must insist,” the bodyguard said. 

“Ugh,” the girl said. “Whatever.” She flipped her hair which, due to the length, hit the bodyguard square in the face. He didn’t even react. 

“Miss Vivi assures you that it will be worth your time, Miss.” But the girl simply picked at her nails, blowing a stray piece of hair out of her face.

“Is there gonna be anyone cute there?” she asked. The bodyguard didn’t react to her clear dismissal of his own (admittedly impressive) physique.

“Yes,” he said. “You can even pick someone out, if you want.” The bodyguard’s eyes strayed to Jake’s, and the girl followed his gaze. She sighed, standing up from her seat.

“Fine, fine,” she said. She gestured to the bartender. “Hey, I’ll cover both our tabs.” The bartender quickly scrambled over, offering up the payment machine. Jake’s eyes widened as he saw her tap the machine with a small, black pin with the Workers logo engraved onto it. 

Was this girl also a part of Workers?

The color wasn’t gold or white, but black. Was that more or less important than the ones he’s seen so far? Judging by the way the bodyguard was acting towards her, she was a big shot.

Does she know who I am, then?

Jake tried to think of all the women he knew to be involved in crews, but his head drew a blank. He couldn’t, for the life of him, remember any of their names. There were quite a few new big time players since he had been locked up (Burn Knuckles’ Vasco, for one, or the elusive Danny that took down Olly Wang), but none of them had female names.

“Are you coming?” the girl asked. Jake nodded, grinning. 

“It’d be my pleasure.” 

Club Vivi’s neon lights flashed against Goo’s obnoxious blond hair and equally annoying suit. The stench of alcohol, sweat, and drugs made her nose scrunch up in disdain, and the tight dress, heels, and chain purse that Goo insisted she wear was already starting to stick to her skin. 

“Am I even allowed to go in there?” Zoe asked. 

“Are you allowed to go around beating other people up?” Goo replied, walking confidently up to the two bouncers. A quick flash of his mysterious black badge and they were in. 

Zoe rolled her eyes at the over-the-top way Goo interacted with the club workers. “I agreed to come because I thought we’d be training,” she said, grimacing as a drunk man tried to get handsy with her. A quick chop to the neck made him pass out.

“Who said this isn’t for training?” Goo asked, pushing through a raucous crowd of people. They all seemed to be cheering for something in the middle. Zoe struggled to keep up, especially in the egregiously high heels Goo had picked out for her. 

Zoe shoved past the last person, finally at the front of the crowd. As she came up next to Goo, her eyes widened at the source of the commotion. “What the—Vasco?” 

The aforementioned Burn Knuckles leader was going head-to-head with Club Vivi’s security team. And, by the looks of it, he was easily coming out on top. 

“Oh, you know him?” Goo asked. “Huh. Well, I was planning on someone else, but he seems like a more level-appropriate opponent.”

It took a second for Goo’s words to process. “You want me to fight him?” Vasco, the leader of Burn Knuckles? Someone I took extra care to avoid in the hallways before Dani transferred? That Vasco?

“Obviously,” Goo said. “Get with the program!” He shoved her into the middle, directly towards Vasco, who had just taken out the last of the security guards. 

“Zoe?” Vasco asked, lowering his stance. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask the same thing,” she said.

“I don’t have time to talk. I need to get my payment.”

“What pay—” Vasco attempted to shove her away, but Goo’s training kept her feet planted. 

“I need my payment, Zoe,” he repeated. He put his hand out to push again, but Zoe was ready for it. 

With a small twist, she hooked her ankle with his, unbalancing him. Vasco tripped slightly, catching himself, but not before Zoe looped her purse strap around his wrists, binding him. 

“Wha—Zoe! How did you do that?”

“What payment, Vasco?” Zoe asked. She could feel the curious eyes of the club’s guests around her. Vasco’s arms flexed, attempting to push past the chain straps, but Zoe could tell that he wasn’t putting all of his strength into it.

For some reason, that made her want to tighten the bindings. 

“For my tteokbokki!” he said. “They ate without paying.”

Huh?

“Ha?” she asked, head tilting. “How much do they owe you?”

“Five hundred won!” Vasco stated. A quick search into her purse for the payment and that was it. Vasco walked out, head held high, as though he hadn’t been the harbinger of chaos moments before. 

As Zoe walked back to where Goo had set up by the bar, already surrounded by various women, she already knew what her mentor was going to say.

“Boring!”

“I didn’t want to fight him,” Zoe said. “He’s one of my friends!”

“I fight with my friends all the time,” Goo said, taking a sip of his colorful drink. “Hey, you want one of these?”

Zoe shook her head, scanning the room. Meeting Vasco was unexpected, and definitely not the “training” that Goo was planning on subjecting her to. She wanted a clear head for whatever was—

“Wait, what are they doing there?”

“Sorry it’s so empty! But go ahead and sit anywhere you want,” Vivi said, gesturing around the decorated room. Like last time, Vivi’s cookies were displayed right in the middle. “Is that your friend?”

“Not really,” Daniel said, sitting at the edge of the booth. He fought the urge to tug his skirt down. “I thought there’d be other people.”

“Oh, they’re coming!” Vivi said. She grabbed two glasses, offering them to him and Jake. They both accepted, but neither of them took a sip. “It’s so nice to meet you! I’ve heard a lot about you.”

In the corner of Daniel’s eye, he could see Jake perk up at that. “Really?” Dani asked. “I have, too. I follow you on TikTacTok.”

“Oh, I’m so flattered!” Vivi said. “You should totally meet my friends, too. They’re on their way here!”

“I’d love to,” Daniel said. 

“I also invited some influencers to hang out with us, I hope you don’t mind,” she said. “I noticed you followed a few of them on Ingstagram and TicTacTok, too!”

Daniel’s tilted his head. “I didn’t realize you knew so much about me.”

Vivi nodded enthusiastically. “Well, I make an effort to keep track of interesting people!”

Hm. Interesting people, huh?

Daniel noticed that Jake was extremely quiet throughout all of it. He hadn’t even picked at any of the food which, while smart, was a little suspicious. Xiaolung’s eyes were already trained on them, the barest hint of suspicion in them. 

“You should eat!” Daniel said, grabbing a harmless cracker and presenting it to Jake. “What’s your name, anyway?”

“Eh? You don’t know his name?” Vivi asked, grabbing a piece of candy. 

“We just met downstairs. I liked how he looked, though.”

“Wow. You have interesting taste, Dani.”

“Thanks!” he said, noticing how Jake tensed at the mention of his name. Did he finally recognize him? 

Before Jake could answer, a knock at the door prompted Xiaolung to open it, revealing… a White Tiger worker, who was escorting the same group of rich kids as before.

“Miss, your friends are here. The influencers you invited are downstairs, as well.”

“You all made it! Sit, sit,” she said, gesturing around the table. “Guys, this is my new friend, Dani Park!”

They all exchanged pleasantries, talking about how hard the private flight was, how annoying their billionaire parents or grandparents were… Daniel could barely hold in his urge to roll his eyes.

“So, what does your family do, Dani?” the kid with glasses asked, taking a sip from his drink. The others in the room all perked up. 

“Oh… ” Daniel already had a cover of sorts. He might as well stick to it. “We do a little bit of everything, but my, er, oppa has been in Korea for business and recommended I check Club Vivi out.” The others in the room all nodded, but Xiaolung and Jake seemed particularly interested at the mention of his “older brother.”

“What’s the name of your—” Before Jake could finish his question, another knock at the door revealed… 

“Eh? Dani, what are you doing here?” Sally asked. Behind her stood Eli, Mira, and Joy, all dressed for a night out, alongside a few other faces Daniel recognized as up-and-coming influencers.

Daniel didn’t even have to fake his shock. “I could ask you guys the same thing!”

“Oh, you know them, Dani?” Vivi asked. “Wow, you know so many handsome people! Come on, sit down, there’s plenty of room.” The four of them all sat down at the table, the girls all immediately beginning to snack on the treats. 

Eli sat down on the other side of Dani, eyes never straying from Jake, who had pulled his hat down in a vain attempt to hide his face. 

“Dani,” Eli said, leaning down to whisper into his ear. “That’s Jake Kim, from Big Deal.” Dani nodded, smiling at Vivi, whose eyes were wide at where Eli’s lips almost touched his neck. “Do you know what you’re doing?”

He leaned towards Eli to whisper in his ear, “Trust me, okay?” Eli paused, then nodded slightly, leaving back. 

“It’s so great you could all make it,” Vivi said, grasping Sally’s hands in hers. 

“Thank you so much for inviting us!” Sally said, shaking hands. “Eli and Joy originally didn’t want to come, but I thought it’d be fun. I’ve never been to a club like this before.”

“I promise it’ll be a fun night,” Vivi said. Daniel wanted to puke at her fake innocent act. “But, wow, you’re all so much more beautiful in-person!”

“Aw, thanks,” Joy said. “You’re a lot prettier in-person, too!” They all grinned at each other. Jake and Eli were still staring each other off, but neither seemed keen on breaking the tension.

Xiaolung, still standing by the doorway, hadn’t taken his eyes off Eli since he stepped into the room. 

Daniel had a million thoughts racing in his head, trying to pivot his plan to work around the unforeseen arrival of his friends. 

“Vivi, are these the famous cookies I’ve heard so much about?” He made a show of grabbing one of them.

Vivi’s face lit up. “Yes, they are! Go ahead and help yourself.” The room’s occupants, sans Vivi and the rich kids, all reached out to grab at them. Before Mira, Sally, or Joy could take bites, Daniel struck his hand out and snatched the cookies away. “Hey!” Joy said.

“Aren’t you three supposed to be on a diet?” Daniel asked, making eye contact with Mira. Her eyebrows furrowed in surprise, before a look of realization crossed her face. 

“How did you know?” Joy asked, pouting. “Also, aren’t you always going on about how we should eat whatever we want, so long as our bodies are healthy?”

“For boys, maybe,” Daniel said, and he internally cringed. “Eli, Jake, why don’t you take one of these instead?” He gave the cookies to each of them, making eye contact with Eli. 

Trust me, okay?

Eli, with just a second of hesitation, ate the cookie. Jake, with the room’s eyes on him, also ate his cookie. “My sweet treat… ” Joy moaned. Sally patted her back, but Mira’s gaze was split between Daniel and the cookie plate. The two locked eyes, and Daniel subtly nodded his head to the exit. 

“I don’t think I’m feeling all that great,” Mira said, holding her stomach. 

“Oh, no,” Sally said. 

“It must’ve been something I ate. Where's the closest restroom?” 

“Oh, one of our guards can show you,” Vivi said. 

“I’ll go with you,” Daniel said. “I’ll call Zack to come pick you up, too.”

“I’ll come with,” Sally said, and Joy also stood to tag along. Daniel could see Vivi’s careful mask stutter for a second, but it was gone in a flash.

“I hope you feel better,” Vivi said. “Hurry back, okay? I have some fun events planned after this!”

Jake and Eli sat in awkward silence after the group of girls left. Jake had a million questions running through his head — Why are you here, I thought you left, How do you know the rich chick — But the stares of Xiaolung and Vivi kept his mouth shut.

“Is Big Deal allied with Workers, now?” Eli asked, voice low. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jake whispered, nodding his head along to the music. “That chick just invited me to join her here.”

Eli looked surprised at that. Jake idly wondered if they had something going on. “Dani did?”

“Yeah,” he said, nodding. Except, for some reason, nodding felt difficult. “She sssaid to… folloooow… herrrr… ” His head tilted downward, the world spinning. He saw Eli and the other influencers also falling. 

The cookies… 

As they entered the restroom, escorted by a Club Vivi guard, Dani turned to the three of them. “Call someone to pick all of you up. Now.”

“Huh?” Sally asked. “What do you—”

“There was something in the cookies, right?” Mira asked. Ever since stepping into that room she had felt on-edge, as though something in her body was telling her how dangerous it was. The small whiff of the cookies’ scent also made her whole body tense. 

Dani nodded. She pulled out her phone and started to text. “I’ll get Zack and Jay to come pick you guys up. I—”

“Wait a minute, Dani,” Joy said, putting a hand out. “If there was something wrong with the cookies, why didn’t you stop Eli from eating them?” Sally stared at Dani as well. 

“There’s something that needs to get done,” Dani said, turning to walk out. 

“That’s not an explanation,” Joy said, but the other girl had already opened the door. She started to usher them to the entrance. 

“Miss, I was told to bring you all straight back to the room with Miss Vivi,” the guard said. 

“I think they all started to come down with something. I’ll say goodbye before heading back up,” Dani said. Mira, Sally, and Joy all traded glances, before nodding. 

Whatever the problem was, they would trust Dani. At least, for now.

The guard didn’t seem willing to argue with that, and simply watched as they headed out. Dani split off from them right before they got out to the main dance floor. 

“I’ll leave you guys here,” Dani said. “But I’ll make sure Eli makes it home safe, ‘kay?”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Sally said, narrowing her eyes at Dani. “And I trust that you’ll stay safe, too.”

“I will, I will,” Dani promised, before heading back inside with their escort. The three girls made their way through the dance floor, before yet another familiar face stopped them in their tracks. 

“Zoe?” Mira asked. The other girl, who looked more than unamused, stared at them like a deer in headlights from her position by a blond man. “I thought you were busy tonight?”

“Uh, yeah,” she said, averting her eyes. “Are you all… ”

“We’re heading out right now,” Joy said. 

“Are these your friends?” the blond man asked, grinning at them. 

“Is this guy bugging you, Zoe?” Sally asked, standing up tall. “I can—”

“I’ll leave you guys here,” Dani said. “But I’ll make sure Eli makes it home safe, ‘kay?”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Sally said, narrowing her eyes at Dani. “And I trust that you’ll stay safe, too.”

“I will, I will,” Dani promised, before heading back inside with their escort.

“No need,” Zoe said. “He’s actually something like my mentor.”

“A mentor?” Mira asked. “For what?”

“Well, you know I started to learn to fight, right?” They all nodded. “So, Goo’s been helping me out with it. Nothing weird, I promise.”

“Saying that makes it seem weird,” Joy pointed out, but let the topic drop. They bid goodbye to Zoe, finally heading towards the entrance. 

But, as they passed by a security guard, a horrifyingly familiar scent entered Mira’s nose. It was one that she could never forget even years later. It was, her mind supplied, also similar to the scent from the cookies. 

She stopped directly in her tracks, turning to face the source of it.

“Miss?” the guard asked. “Is everything all right?”

“Are you wearing perfume?” she asked. 

The guard looked confused. “No, why do you ask?”

“No reason,” Mira said. To her side, Joy and Sally were giving her concerned looks. 

“Is the club making you feel worse?” Sally asked. “Let’s step outside.”

Sally and Joy stared at each other, trying hard to ignore the suspicion in their guts, but Mira was struggling to avoid looking at the bodyguard from before. 

There was no mistaking that, somehow, Club Vivi was involved with the Pungsan Cult. And for the life of her, Mira knew she couldn’t keep it a secret. 

After all, while Zack and Johan seemed convinced she had moved on from it, even she could hold space for pure, unadulterated hatred. 

Jake’s head pounded. The world swirled around him, and he fought back the urge to vomit. 

That fucking… 

“Good, you’re awake,” a voice said. Dani, the girl who had brought him into this mess, leaned down over him, her hair framing her face and the lights behind her casting in an ethereal light. 

Jake knew that she was far from an angel, though. 

Quick as his body would allow, Jake jumped up, reaching a hand out to try and pin Dani down. But, and Jake could tell that it wasn’t just because of the drugs, the girl sidestepped faster than he could keep up with. “We don’t have much time,” she said, standing up straight. “Just so you know, the 3rd Affiliate has been drugging people to rape them in their sleep.”

“Wha—” Jake’s mind was finally beginning to clear. He could feel his stomach curdle from the knowledge, but his mind was yelling at him that he was there for one person and one person only. 

But. Sinu would have wanted to help them. What if the drugged girls had been Luah, or Yeonhui? 

He wouldn’t be able to face Sinu when he found him if he didn’t do something. But, he might not be able to find Sinu if he made an enemy out of Workers. 

The crack of a body hitting the wall brought Jake out of his indecision. Jake turned to the sound, eyes landing on the crumpled form of one of the rich kids from before. 

“Ah,” Dani said. “Eli must’ve woken up.” Just then, Eli appeared at the doorway, holding the other drugged people. It seemed they had yet to wake up. 

“Dani,” he said. “What’s your plan?”

“Well, I honestly don’t think we need to do all that much,” she said. “After all, the 3rd Affiliate is already in trouble with Eugene.” Eli and Jake’s eyes narrowed.

“How do you know that?” Jake asked. “Who are you?”

“I’m someone who knows how you can get Sinu back. So long as you follow my lead here.”

“I’m not going home,” Mira said, hands crossed over her chest. “I’m just as much a part of this as you are!”

“If Mira’s not going home, then I’m not leaving, either!” Sally said. “Eli’s still in there!”

“I’m not going, either. I’ve been learning to fight, so I won’t be a weakness,” Joy said. 

Zack, Johan, and Jay all exchanged looks. The longer they stayed outside, the less of a chance they’d be able to help Dani out. But letting the three girls fight for them? 

“So long as you stay behind us at all times,” Johan said, stepping forward. 

“Wait, you’re gonna let them follow us?” Zack asked. Jay’s hands came up as well, obviously distraught at the thought of them fighting.

“When have you ever been able to dissuade Mira from doing something she wants to do?” he asked, and Zack couldn’t fight with that.

“Just… Be careful,” he said, following in Johan’s footsteps.

As they approached the entrance to Club Vivi, Zack’s eyes caught on the strange tteokbokki stand right outside, manned by… Vasco? 

“Should we get Vasco to help us?” he asked, nodding to the Burn Knuckles’ leader, who was trying to call over uninterested passersby to his stand. A quick conversation and rundown of the situation made him agree. 

Once they reached the entrance, for some reason, the sight of Vasco approaching made the security guards immediately attack them. Within seconds they were taken down, and they stepped deeper into the club.

“It was her,” Mira said, pointing at a female security guard by a corner. “She smelled exactly like… ” Zack and Johan exchanged glances, before marching straight towards the girl. 

At their approach, the guard straightened, glaring at them. “I’m afraid this section is—”

Wasting no time, Zack slammed a fist next to her head, cracking the wall by her face. At the same time, Johan kicked her feet out from under her, causing her to fall. A quick sniff in the air, and Zack could feel his blood run hot. 

Mira was right.

“Woah there,” someone said, putting their hand on Zack’s shoulder. “Men shouldn’t treat such a beautiful woman—” Without looking, Zack punched the interloper. 

Johan kneeled down next to the guard. “What do you know about Pungsan?” he asked, voice low. His face looked calm, but Zack could tell how angry he was. 

“Pungsan?” she said. “I don’t—”

“Then,” he said, stepping on her shins. “What do you know about Workers’ drug business?”

“I don’t know anything!” she said. She tried to grapple out of it, but Johan was too skilled. As she twisted out from under his foot, he brought a knee up against her face, causing her nose to start bleeding. “Shit! Fine, fine, we just distribute the drugs, okay?”

“Vivi does?” Zack asked, glaring down at her. 

“Yes!” she says, nodding her head. The blood from her nose stains her white dress shirt and dribbles onto the floor, painting a disgusting picture. “She brought all the drugs here because China executes druggies.”

“Where’s Vivi?” Johan asks. When the guard takes too long to answer, he raises his knee again, but she cracks quickly.

“She’s on the top floor! But you’ll need an executive’s badge,” she said, unpinning a thin badge and holding it out to them. “Just let me go… don’t mention it was me, okay?”

Johan quickly snatched the badge from her, shoving her away with a quick kick. She hit the ground hard and, if it had been Zack from just a year ago, he would’ve been offended on her behalf. But her involvement with the cult simply made him curl his lip in disgust.

“Let’s go,” Johan said, stepping toward the elevator. Zack spared one last glance at the downed executive, before following. 

They met back up with Mira, Sally, Joy, Jay, and Vasco at the elevators. They quickly explained what the badge was, before pressing on the top floor and tapping the badge. 

As it started to move upwards, the elevator suddenly started to shake. “What’s going on?” Joy asked, looking around. 

“It might be—” 

“AH!” Sally’s guess was cut off by Joy’s scream. They looked up, meeting eyes with a horribly disfigured, burnt face. Soon, countless other, similarly burnt faces appeared around them, tearing apart the elevator itself. 

Johan, Zack, and Vasco all fought them off, continuously checking that the elevator was still ascending, but the sheer number of them was causing the floor to shake. No matter how hard they hit, they simply got back up. 

Just as the door opened on the top floor, another wave of them approached. “Shit,” Zack said, bringing his bloody knuckles up, preparing for the fight. 

But, before they could even get to him, a silver bat launched at the first person, knocking them out cold. As it fell, they all watched as a thin figure snatched it from the air, twisting her body around to slam it into another, and another, and another.

“Zoe?” 

Mira rushed out of the elevator, heading straight to Zoe, barely sidestepping around the fallen men. “Are you—”

“What are you still doing here?” she asked, smashing the bat against another person.
With her help, they were finally making a dent in the crowd. “Did you find where they took Dani?”

“Wait, they took Dani?”

“Woah, these guys are pretty tough!” Goo said, idly kicking away one of the men when they tried coming at him. His steel-pointed shoes caused a sickening crunch , and the attacker fell to the ground. 

Zoe didn’t even bother looking over, still weaving between their countless opponents. Some of the men had gotten dirty hits on her, ripping parts of her outfits. She could already feel the bruises starting to form under her skin.

“What the fuck is Goo doing here?” Johan asked, chucking one of the men out a window. 

Overkill, much? Zoe thought, smashing the tip of her bat straight into the eye socket of her own opponent. 

“Aren’t you looking for Dani Park?” he asked, tilting his head. Unlike the J-High students (and Sally), he still looked perfectly put together. “I would hurry, it seems like she’s on her way out.”

“You know who took Dani?” Joy asked. She had pulled her hair into a low bun, taking out multiple men with a small pair of batons. Zoe didn’t know she had been learning to fight. 

“Well, I know who probably took her,” he said. 

“Stop with the riddles!” Vasco said, shoving a group of four men down the stairs.

“Is that why you brought us here?” Zoe asked. With Goo’s help, the crowd was slowly but surely dissipating. 

“Not really,” he said. “Who would’ve thought there would be two monsters arriving at the 3rd Affiliate today?”

“What do you mean by two?” Zack asked. 

“Why, Dani Park and the boss’s little pet project!”

While Daniel was sure that the fight between Jake and Xiaolung before was impressive, they didn’t really have time for all of that. 

“Dani Park,” Xiaolung said, brandishing his spear. “I didn’t think you’d come after the 3rd Affiliate. Nonetheless, I will not allow you any closer.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m not interested in fighting,” he said. “After all, Gun’s already eliminated you from running, and I’m sure the representative of your chairman will be here any second now.”

“Speak for yourself,” Jake said, pushing himself past Daniel. “But your Vivi’s got the answers I need.”

Daniel and Eli exchanged looks. “I told you that I will—”

“That’s not exactly a guarantee, is it?” Jake said, pulling on his leather gloves. “Besides, I have a feeling I’ll enjoy this fight.”

And so, the two started to fight. Daniel, who knew the outcome, turned to Eli.

“If we put them in spare hotel rooms, they’ll think they’re guests,” he said. “Can you—”

But Eli was already heading down the stairs. 

At least I can count on one person being predictable.

Daniel stood to the side as he watched Jake and Xiaolung fight it out. It was brutal, to say the least, but certainly not the worst he’d ever seen. 

Soon enough, Jake had Xiaolung on the floor, when the bodyguard started to bark like a dog. And, like clockwork, Samuel showed up, just as self-assured and cocky as before.

“Is Gun trying to test the 3rd Affiliate as well?” Samuel asked, cocking his head. “But it looks like you haven’t even lifted a finger!”

“Not everything has to be solved by your own hands,” Daniel said. In fact, most things couldn’t. He had learned that the hard way.

“Trust me, I know what you mean.”

“How do you know Gun?” Jake asked, turning to face him. 

“You don’t know?” 

“Know what, asshole?”

“She’s his darling little sister,” Samuel answered, smirking. 

“You—” 

“If you’re here for Vivi, then you can take her,” Daniel said. 

Samuel ignored his comment, staring down at Xiaolung. “I didn’t think you’d actually bark! Unluckily for you, the chairman’s plans have changed.”

“You can’t take Vivi,” Jake said, standing between Xiaolung and Samuel. “I need her to find Sinu.”

“Well, I can help with that,” Samuel said but, like before, Jake didn’t believe him. 

As they started to fight, Daniel was feeling like things were going far too well. Eli had the kidnapped influencers, the 3rd Affiliate was soon going to be under someone Daniel was sure he could defeat in the future, and Xiaolung and Vivi were soon to be taken care of. Mira, Sally, and Joy were all back home, safe from the fighting… 

Honestly, it was a little disconcerting. Usually by now something… 

His thoughts were interrupted by the lights flickering above. Daniel blinked, wondering if it was just his eyes, but they flickered once more. Samuel and Jake’s fighting ceased, also disconcerted by the faulty lights. 

His stomach sank as heavy, slow footsteps reached his ears. 

Turning, heart in his throat, he came face-to-face with the body he thought he’d never see again.

“Who the fuck—” Samuel was cut off with a sickening roundhouse kick to the face, quickly downing him. 

Jake brought his hands up in a crossguard as UI!Daniel(?) sent a flurry of punches his way, his bones cracking sickeningly. A hand blade to the neck made him tumble to the ground as well. 

UI!Daniel turned toward the last conscious person in the area: Daniel. “Shit,” he said, tensing, preparing himself to fight his second body, but the unconscious UI!Daniel simply stood there. 

“Hello?” he said, taking a step toward his second body. No reaction.

Who are you? 

Was this someone else’s second body?

Taking another step forward, he risked snapping his fingers. No reaction. 

Daniel wasn’t sure what to do. It was clear, by the state of his second body, that someone had been taking care of it. So was it his place to “steal” his body back? Was it even his body in the first place?

As he was stuck in indecision, the sound of multiple people’s footsteps reached his ears, coming closer and closer. Daniel knew that, if they approached, they would quickly be taken out. “Don’t—”

Just then, quicker than he could react, a hand covered his mouth with a white cloth. Daniel instinctively breathed in, his eyelids growing heavier and heavier, until he passed out. 

They met up with Eli at the staircase just before the top floor. “Dani said to trust her,” he said, taking in the disheveled appearance of everyone but Goo and Johan. “But I have a feeling… ”

“That she’s being dumb again?” Zack asked, ignoring the glare that Zoe sent him.

Eli sent an unimpressed look his way, before ascending the staircase. For some reason, as they grew closer to the top, the lights began to become more and more finicky, the air filled with a tension that Zack couldn’t put his finger on.

“It should be up here,” Eli said, opening the door to the top floor. 

Immediately, Zack could feel his knees want to buckle from the sheer aura emanating from the hallway. With a quick glance at his friends, Eli and Johan lead the charge inward.

And, within seconds, they were bombarded by a series of kicks, punches, and techniques that Zack’s eyes couldn’t even hope to keep up with. Even Johan, who Zack still couldn’t hope to compete with, seemed entirely out of his league.

The man attacking them seemed entirely devoid of emotion, as though acting purely on instinct. His eyes were reversed, black pits of apathy that made the hair on Zack’s neck stand up straight.

Despite knowing he was probably no match for him, Zack couldn’t very well stand back and let Johan and Eli do all of the work. 

He brought his fists up, joining the fray. Behind him, he could feel Vasco, Joy, and Zoe all join in as well. 

It was… brutal, to say the least. It felt as though whenever they were close to getting a hit in, the mysterious man would simply hit back three times harder. Zack could feel bruises forming on his bones, could feel how indescribably out of his league he was. 

Was this who had taken Dani? 

“Truce?” a tattooed man asked, picking himself up from the floor. He held a hand out to… Jake Kim? 

“Fuck you,” Jake said, but took his hand anyway. But, two new fighters made no difference. The man—no, the monster—simply batted them away like flies. 

“Where’s Dani?” Vasco asked, pushing himself back up once more. His face was more blood than skin. 

Of course, the monster did not answer, and simply sent a series of blows so quick they might as well have been invisible towards him, knocking him down once more.

Zoe’s bat had quickly been broken by the monster’s grip strength. She was now using her torn-up purse as a makeshift whip, but she wasn’t faring any better than anyone else. 

Eli’s hair was matted with blood, his normally handsome face bruised beyond recognition. Joy had been knocked unconscious by a brutal spinning kick just a few seconds into the fight. Jay, somehow, was nowhere to be seen. 

Johan was still standing, but only barely. As usual, he had begun to copy the monster’s moves, but it seemed like a pale imitation of the mastery that the monster had over fighting itself.

Just as the monster was about to step on Johan’s face, Zack rushed forward, hands outstretched. He could feel his arm shatter into little pieces as he protected the still-healing eyes of Johan from the monster’s step. 

“Zack!” Johan yelled, rolling over. Zack clutched his arm, preparing himself for another attack, when Goo stepped in. They had lost him sometime in the fray.

“Wow!” Goo said, his glasses sliding down his nose. “It’s even more impressive than I thought!”

“Shut the fuck up!” Zoe groaned out, clutching her ribs. “Either help us or get the fuck out!”

“This was supposed to be your training, though!” He whined. “It’s a lot more skilled than I thought it would have been. Hm… ” He tapped his chin, and in any other circumstance Zack would have slapped him. “If you grab that girl over there, then I guess I’ll help you out.” He pointed to a trembling girl who was clutching a badly beaten Chinese man to her chest. 

Without hesitation, Zoe crawled over to the girl, who started to back away before realizing she couldn’t move and still hold onto the man in her arms. “No, don’t—”

Quick as lightning, Zoe knocked her unconscious with a temple strike. “There, now help us!”

Goo shrugged off his jacket, grabbing a strange spear from the doorway. “Alright, let’s—”

The monster reached out and broke the spear straight in half. Goo’s eyes narrowed. “Never mind, then.”

Zack could barely keep his eyes open from the pain as he watched Goo and the monster fight. Despite his confidence, the blond was clearly taken aback by how truly skilled the other was. It was like he had been hiding his strength until an even stronger opponent appeared. 

The last thing he saw before passing out was the sight of Logan Lee, hands in his trousers, strutting forward like he owned the place, and a strange man in a lab coat following behind.

Daniel was very, very sick of getting drugged. It had happened so many times in his previous life, but he had figured, at least with his power level now, that he would’ve been able to predict when it would happen. 

Of course, who would’ve expected James Lee himself to kidnap a poor, unsuspecting high schooler?

“DG?” Daniel said, head still pounding from the chloroform. He could feel a plush mattress under his back, and quickly surmised that they were in one of Hotel Vivi’s suites. 

Said killer-turned-idol was sitting cross-legged in a chair by his bedside, looking far too concerned for someone who had created the predicament Daniel was in. 

“Does your head hurt?” he asked, bringing a hand up to touch his forehead. Daniel batted the hand away, sitting up.

“What the fuck?” he said, pushing the covers away. Luckily, he was still dressed in the outfit he had on before. It seemed that he hadn’t been unconscious that long, too, judging by the sky outside. 

“I thought I told you to stay away from the Four Crews,” DG said, frowning. He didn’t attempt to halt Daniel’s movements to leave. 

“A little late for that,” he quipped, stepping toward the entrance. “And you said to stay away from Charles Choi, not the Four Crews.”

“Does your mother know you’re doing this?” DG asked, and Daniel felt his blood run cold. 

Turning around, he rushed toward DG, throwing a punch out where his head was. Of course, the idol simply tilted his head away from the blow. 

“Keep my mother out of your mouth,” he snarled. “I don’t give a shit if you owe her any favors. I can do this on my own, and I don’t need a man who would drug a high schooler to help me.

“Dani,” DG said. “You don’t even know what Charles would do to you if he found out about you. To him, your mother had a son.”

“So, what?”

“Your mother never wanted this for you,” he said.

“Go fuck yourself,” Daniel said. He thought about the other man standing over him, the cold, wet dirt under his palms as he slowly died. “You don’t know anything about my mother.” Then, he marched out the door, just barely stopping himself from slamming it like a child.

Jake stared as the monster that had so easily beaten three crew heads and Goo Kim himself seemed to fall down like a puppet with its strings cut. The lab coat man pocketed the syringe into his jacket. “Even more dangerous than expected,” he whispered. “You truly exceed expectations no matter what, hm?”

Jake, who was sure he had at least a concussion if not brain damage, struggled to pin where he knew the man from. The lab coat, the hair… 

“Uncle Jinyoung?” he whispered. The man whipped his head around, staring daggers at Jake. 

“Eh?” he said, scratching his head. “Jake? What are you—”

“Mister Park, the chairman says we should go back ASAP,” Samuel said, pushing himself up.

“How quickly you go back to business,” Jake said, but his eyes never strayed from Jinyoung. “Uncle, how come you disappeared?”

“Jake… ” Jinyoung murmured, then clutched his head, eyes clenched in pain. Jake’s eyes widened as his uncle started to punch his own face. 

“Uncle Jinyoung!” he yelled, but Samuel and the other worker executive were already escorting his uncle away. “Samuel, you bastard—”

“If you want information on Sinu,” Samuel said, back turned. “Then help me become king, Jake.”

Jake felt his face sneer, but he knew he couldn’t say no to the offer. 

“Dani Park should be able to tell you everything you need to know,” he said. “Once she turns back up, of course. All I’ll need from you is a little favor.”

Begrudgingly, Jake nodded, watching dully as Jinyoung, Samuel, and the other Workers executive took the strange man, Xiaolung, and Vivi away.

Wait… Was Dani Park the same as the Danny Park that took down God Dog and Hostel?

Daniel quickly realized that, even though he hadn’t been asleep that long, he had clearly missed the resolution to the 3rd Affiliate. A quick check to his phone revealed hundreds of missed calls from his friends, all asking where in the world he was.

He managed to assuage their worries, assuring them that he was safe and sound. He told them that he had come down with a weird stomach bug and decided to go home after the Vivi fiasco and that, no, he didn’t meet a strange unconscious man.

Daniel wasn’t sure how his second body was connected to him. Or if it even was still connected to him, in this life. 

Nonetheless, he couldn’t risk the connection being made. However, he did quickly realize that his second body must’ve fought his friends, seeing as they all were being treated by the Hongs’ personal doctor at Jay’s place. 

There were still so many questions, of course. Why was DG there? What was the connection between James Lee and his mother? Or Charles Choi? Why didn’t he have control of his second body in this life? 

It felt that, as much as Daniel had a handle on the information he knew previously, he still couldn’t predict a single thing.

And, as Daniel went to bed that night, he realized that his second body had clearly copied techniques that it shouldn’t have learned for months to come.