Asami is used to being alone.

She's never felt like she belongs with a large majority of her peers. An introvert at heart, she's been called. On the contrary, her personality is more headstrong and stubborn than alluring, which is probably why she finds regularity in appreciating her own company.

Her parents were a presence in her life as they should have been. She remembers her mother's smile and her father's comforting hums. She remembers her teen years and their protective rules that she always thought were too much. She remembers them sending her off to university, leaving her with the apartment she lives in now. 

They're her parents and they've always been there for her, so why is it that she feels resentment towards them? Even as she was growing up, there was the need to create distance between her and them, like she needed to protect herself. That's not to say she doesn't trust them - because she thinks she does - she just hasn't ever experienced the safe atmosphere most normal children have with their parents. 

That being said, Asami knows the events with Baekhyun have really torn her mindset apart when she dials her mother's number. It's reached the point where she feels as if there's no other option, no one else to turn to. Jaehwan is the only other person she'd feel comfortable enough to contact, but after he left her at the bar, a growing sense of doubt towards him has resided within her.

"Hello?" her mother greets with the usual honey-like tone she knows very well.

"Hi, mom," Asami says, questioning her decision as soon as she does. 

"Oh, it's been so long! How have you been?" The woman sounds absolutely delighted in a way that makes her daughter's lip twitch.

"I've been okay," is the generic reply that doesn't even begin to describe how she's been. "I don't actually know why I called I just...I don't know. I'm not disturbing anything am I?"

Another voice can be heard from her mother's end of the line, but it's quickly covered up by her exclamation of, "Not at all! Is there something on your mind?"

"Kind of," Asami draws the last syllable out and shifts at her place on the couch as she thinks to herself. "It's complicated."

"Is it a boy?"

She hates how high school drama it sounds, but her mom is actually spot on. It's never been more about a boy in her entire goddamn life, although it's not for the reason she's sure the older woman is thinking of. Romance is the last thing on her mind regarding Baekhyun. Besides, she wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't trust her at all considering their last conversation. She's never given him a reason to, aside from helping him when he was injured.

Maybe he has a point. Maybe they're meant to stay strangers.

"Asami? Are you still there?"

"Yeah, sorry," she shakes herself from deep thought. "Don't worry about it. I know what I should do, but I'm not sure it's the right thing."

"You'll know. You're a smart girl, I believe that you'll know what's best in the end," her mother reassures her.

It's a bit disappointing that, once again, the weight of doing the right thing - or nothing at all, in this case - is left solely on Asami's shoulders. Then again, conversations with her parents such as this one typically end up this way. With a we trust you or you'll be okay or you're a smart, independent girl. Funnily enough she's never thought any of those things to be true, from the trust to the independence. But who is she to argue with her elders?

"You're right," she concedes weakly. "Thanks mom."

More panicked voices come from the other line and she can barely make out her mother's muffled reply before she receives a rushed, "Something came up at work. I'll call you back soon, I promise." Leaving her with only the sound of the dial tone.

Asami is used to being left alone.

--

Baekhyun's unsure about going back to the bar. 

After what happened before, which took him a day of recovery to bounce back from, returning feels like a suicide mission. Still, it's not like he has a choice. It's the only lead he has unless he can find another common gathering spot for their agents. He hadn't meant for things to go so awry the first time, and he's dead set on making sure nothing happens this time around.

The only thing he knows going into the building is that the man he previously dealt with isn't going to be there. If he remembers correctly, the damage he'd caused to the agent is enough to keep him incapacitated for at least the rest of the weekend, if not longer. Therefore, right now is the most opportune moment for Baekhyun to infiltrate once more.

It's like deja vu, the way the atmosphere feels as he walks into the bar. The music is as loud as ever - possibly louder - and just as many people are packed together like sardines in every corner of the room. Some of them are transparent enough to have their badges displayed on their clothes, prompting him to mentally log them as potential outlets of information. He stands out, he knows, with his pulled down baseball cap and a face mask hiding the key recognizable points of his face. The fact is reconciled with the idea that he won't need to be there for long. All he needs to do is grab someone and go. Well, not literally - unless it comes to that.

He approaches a barstool next to a woman with the dreaded insignia upon her right upper arm. A different approach is what he needs because clearly the men of the organization only plan to kick his .

"Would you mind if I sat here?" he asks with double the amplification because the muffling from his face mask paired with the loud bass does no