Orange stained the sky as JinJu's eyes opened blearily, the vibrant colours spreading across the gradually lightening navy as the sun rose. She could still feel Chanyeol's head leaning against hers, hear his heavy breathing and smiled as she gently leant him against her shoulder instead, turning to look out the window so she could watch the sun light up the sky.

The city was spread out in front of her, the sleek glass skyscrapers and clean cut buildings thickening around them as they got closer into the city. JinJu had only ever been there once before in her life, when her father had been doing an odd delivery job between Jaedue and Adai, and she'd been allowed to explore a tiny bit but had wasted the chance on egging the prince. Seeing the city, the actual city streets- not the dark walls of the Royal Palace as she climbed to the prince's window- in day was completely different; the place was welcoming and friendly, and even though she knew it to be a facade, from the safety net of the minibus JinJu felt somewhat calm to be there.

"Good morning, JinJu." Zitao addressed her quietly, catching her eye in the rear view mirror, and she gave him a curt nod in response before reverting her gaze back to the city streets out the window. She heard Zitao sigh, but paid the Walker no heed.

Chanyeol stirred beside her, grunting in his sleep. She ignored it, fascinated as people began to dot the streets, even in this early hour. Business people, wearing neat suits and pretty skirts, with fresh faces and shiny hair. How JinJu despised these people; they lived in a bubble, she thought as she watched them walk, even smile and laugh, in disgust. Jaedue was a dome, Shapeshifter was a dome, and it protected them from so much more than they realised. Out there, in the real world, people weren't that goddamn happy- yet here, here they-

"Mornin'." A husky drawl in her ear shook her out of her thoughts, and she visibly jumped. A sudden pain throbbed at her hand, and she yelped quietly, before cursing.

"Oww," she whimpered, looking down; she'd nicked her finger on the sharp edge of her blade that must've slipped down her wrist in her sleep. Chanyeol looked alarmed; but a snicker sounded from behind her, one that was obviously unsurpassed. JinJu whipped around to see that blonde man she'd beaten up yesterday. She scowled, turning back to Chanyeol.

"Sorry, Jin," he apologised, "Didn't mean to scare you."

"All good," she sighed, bringing her finger to her lips and cringing at the metallic taste that followed. "Just a small cut, s'not gonna kill me. And good morning." Chanyeol flashed her a smile, and the familiarity of it all eased some of the anxiety that had been with her since she'd found a group of Skinwalkers in her house before.

"Oh. So that did happen, I guess." There was a deliberately loud drawl from the back of the bus, and both Chanyeol and JinJu couldn't help but glance behind them at the culprit of the noise- the from before, Sehun. He locked eyes with Chanyeol and sneered, "I thought the filthy lowlives getting on the bus with us was some ridiculous nightmare, but it seems that that is not the case." He snorted, and Chanyeol's hands balled into fists at his sides. "Shame."

"Not worth it," JinJu whispered almost inaudibly, turning around and tapping Chanyeol's shaking fists, urging him to do the same.

"It's not like we exactly want to be here with you, either," Chanyeol muttered as he turned back slowly; from his place at the back, Sehun narrowed his eyes at the back of the seat.

The Skinwalkers, what JinJu had perceived as 'Kim Jongin's crew' were waking up noisily down back, demeaning remarks and patronising chastising of said statements floating down the aisle with a volume JinJu found incredibly hard to ignore. She breathed deeply, calming herself, before focusing her attention back out the window. She had to suppress a gasp; for nothing could've prepared her for how majestic the Indion Palace looked with the backdrop of a sleek city and a rising sun.

The entire city had somewhat amazed JinJu, but she'd seen photos of the place before- the wealth wasn't entirely new, or the sight of it at least. The castle though, well, no photos could prepare her for that.

It was white, gleaming white that made JinJu pity the poor souls who had to clean the walls, and the sun reflected off it in a way that brought to mind visions of heavenly beings and purity and clouds. The towers soared, the flags sailed, and the windows gave glimpses into wealth behind her wildest dreams, gave everybody down below a taste of that unattainability, that royalty. Even for Jaedue, the peek JinJu was given of the lavish interior screamed wealth. It was the apex of fortune, that castle, and not even JinJu, who harboured hatred for the hypocrisy of this society, couldn't deny the beauty.

The Palace was located in the centre of the city, and JinJu could see it drawing closer and closer, the view becoming more and more unobstructed by skyscrapers as the minibus advanced further. The streets had become more crowded, more people walking, exercising, driving to work, talking on their phones, existing out in the open. Jaedue had a buzz, one that the slum completely lacked. 

The people here were happy.

Suddenly the bus took a turn; and JinJu couldn't see the Palace anymore. The sigh from beside her let her know that Chanyeol too had marvelled at the place; they both slumped back in their seats, suddenly deflated as the bus started to move away from the centre of the city, down into a street that seemed a lot less crowded and had a somewhat calm feel to it.

"Kim Jongin," Zitao called out, "This is your usual bar, right?" He began to slow the bus, until he parked it street side in the shade of a medium sized building. Jongin glanced outside, then nodded.

"But how did you-"

"Never mind that- I'll need you to rent out a private room for the rest of the day. Can you go out and..?"

Jongin gave a long-suffering sigh. "Just tell them the password and say it's on Kim Jongin's tab."

"And the password is..?

"Panther." He blushed slightly at Zitao's raised eyebrow. "I'm assuming this is for the Defectives?" Luhan nudged him disapprovingly at the contempt laced in the last word.

"Yes," Zitao replied, "I doubt bringing them into the palace at this point would be a good idea, especially with what I've got planned." He unbuckled his seatbelt, then reached over to open his door. "Suho, could you get out please? JinJu and Chanyeol, you too. Ah- and leave your bags on the bus. I promise, you'll have no need for them here and nobody will steal them while you're gone." 

Suho stood with a sinking feeling, a bad feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. Nonetheless, he waited behind as the two Defective exited the bus, glaring daggers into their backs. Kris whistled as he watched him go, smirking. "If looks could kill..." he mused as Suho stepped off; and it was times like these that Suho really detested his brother.

Reluctantly, the three followed Zitao into the bar. The daylight from outside was immediately dimmed, the bar haunt no windows, with dark, sultry red marble walls and black furnishings. It was modern, had a nice vibe, in Suho's opinion- JinJu and Chanyeol couldn't really tell, too in awe of the black crystal chandelier dangling overhead. Suho scoffed and rolled his eyes; stupid people really were easy to please, he supposed.

"Good morning, sir." A woman in a fitted black dress and tightly pulled back hair came from behind the counter to greet them with a small bow. Her eyes were alluringly framed with smoky black and her lips stained siren red; Chanyeol gaped openly until JinJu nudged him sharply in the ribs.

"Hello," Zitao replied, returning her slight bow. "We'd like to hire out Kim Jongin's usual room please? On his tab too, thank you." 

The woman looked unsure, "I don't know-"

"And the password is Panther?"

Her expression cleared, and she smiled with a prim nod. "Of course. Follow me, if you will." She began to walk- or rather, sashay, JinJu noted bitterly- down to the back of the room, where she then stopped to show them up a flight of black, glossy stairs that looked to be suspended from the wall beside it. 

The woman gave JinJu and Chanyeol a strange look as they hesitated to step up, eyes darting apprehensively from the 'suspended' step to the wall where the two joined, and back again. The wait was beginning to get ridiculous, and the woman's confused expression was slowly being permeated with something more suspicious.

Suho sighed, gritting his teeth. "Move," he hissed, shoving past the two and stepping up, in a way proving to them that the stairs were not going to break, for god's sake. Chanyeol looked up and saw the bartender's disapproving glare, and he smiled sheepishly.

"S-Sorry," he apologised, "Just not much of a heights person." The woman still looked wholly unimpressed, and Chanyeol didn't really blame her- it was thirty centimetres. So, he took a deep breath, and stepped up, sighing in relief when he didn't plummet to his death. "Come on," he murmured, taking an obviously anxious JinJu's hands and slowly leading her up. Suho was already up, waiting on the landing beside Zitao, leaning against the wall with a bored expression.

"Took your time," he sneered, before turning to follow the slightly irritated woman as she lead them down the dark red corridor. 

"Just in here," she said, pushing the door open. "Would you like any drinks brought up?"

Zitao looked over at JinJu and smiled wryly. "Juice. An assortment of fruit juices."

"And whiskey," Suho added, pushing past everyone and dropping into a comfortable leather chair on the far side of the room. The woman nodded, and turned to make her way down the hallway.

"Oh! And, after you bring the drinks, please don't disturb them again." Zitao smiled, and the woman nodded cooly. "We're renting the room for the rest of the day- the business to be conducted is of high importance, and it's imperative that they," he motioned towards the three in the room, "Aren't distracted."

"Of course." And with that, she was down the stairs. Zitao turned back to the room, in which Suho lounged on the chair and Chanyeol and JinJu stood awkwardly in the centre, not quite knowing what to do with themselves in such luxury.

"Make yourselves at home, we might be a while." Zitao told them. "There's a pool table over there, and I'm sure you'd be able to find a pack of cards in that chest of drawers."

"So does this mean I'm on babysitting duty?"

Zitao grinned at Suho. "No, these two are more than capable- don't you remember last night?" Suho cringed at the memory, his side seeming to throb where JinJu had kicked him. "No, you Suho, are here to play Shifter should anybody get suspicious of your party. I'm sure you have a pelt in your shoe, and you probably know how it all goes."

Suho nodded resignedly. "Fine. What if they demand those two 'Shift'? What'll we do then?"

Again, Zitao grinned. "If it comes to that, I'm sure you'll figure it out." He sighed happily, and Suho scowled. "Well, I'm off. Your drinks are on their way up- Suho, don't overdo it on the whiskey, it'll make you a weak target. Who knows, maybe you'll make some new friends?"

Suho snorted derisively. "I doubt it."

"As you wish." Zitao bowed mockingly in the Walker's direction, smiling as he saw JinJu seat herself on the edge of a couch out of the corner of his eye. The woman from before came in with a large platter adorned with multiple bottles and glasses, setting it down on the table before exiting as quickly as she'd come. Suho immediately lunged for the whiskey, and Zitao clicked his tongue reprovingly. "Well on that note, I'm off. Remember, don't overdo it, Suho, she might kick you in the balls again."

Zitao flashed a smile towards JinJu and Chanyeol, the grin morphing into a smirk as he locked gaze with Suho, before closing the door behind him as he left. Suho sniffed, eyeing JinJu disdainfully.

"Don't even think about it," he threatened, and the girl looked completely and utterly confused- to say the least.

Zitao returned to the minibus humming happily. "To the palace we go!" He sung as he started the engine, ignoring the strange sidelong glance he earned from Kris. "Could everyone come down the front?" he called out, "I need to explain some things before we get back."

Reluctantly, the Shifters came down the aisle and plopped themselves in nearby seats, taking care to avoid Baekhyun. Said Walker looked indifferent, staring into space and pointedly looking anywhere but his at the men surrounding him. He seemed a completely different person from when Chanyeol and JinJu had been on the bus, apologetic and nervous; now, he was the picture of detachment. 

Zitao got straight down to business. "Jongin, you're going to tell your father you, Luhan, Sehun and and Jongdae are going to Sundassa to spend a month or two at your villa there. Do whatever you need to in the palace; just make it known that you won't be there for a while. Understood?"

Jongin shook his head. "A month or so? I thought we were going to be a week- two at max." 

"Oh, Jongin." Zitao laughed, tone patronising; J