Things are going to be okay. They have to be okay. She has to be okay.

At least, that's what Baekhyun tells himself the entire time he runs through the streets. It's most likely a scare tactic they're using to manipulate him. They know he'll go to her house and they have people stationed there to capture him. That's why the woman let him run out of the bar despite having told him what she did. That has to be it. Thinking of the alternative - of Asami being in their control - sickens him. So he settles with the option in which he's the only one who gets hurt. It's always been better that way.

The only problem with that is he has no idea where she lives and, if that's where they are, she might be in some real deep . It's not even so much a matter of what she means to him because he knows that it's not much, if anything at all. It's more so a matter of him unwittingly dragging a human into something much greater than her. Something with the potential to ruin or end her life.

He goes to the cafe because that's the only place he knows by heart. Baekhyun is unsure what time it is, but he's hoping it's late because if Jiwoo were to get caught up in this too, he would go insane. It's one thing to be incapable of protecting his brothers. It's another thing to be useless in keeping innocent people safe.

When he arrives there, he immediately throws himself into a nearby alley. Two men stand large and menacing at the door that he assumes they busted opened with force. The lock hangs open on the handle and he's positive the interior may not be in any better shape. Internally, he apologizes to the old man and begins formulating a plan. For once, he's lucky enough to have an advantage. 

He used to get teased for being heavy footed and naturally loud even without words, but in this case, he practices the most silence he's ever felt the need to exhibit. The shadows of the night assist in making his route to the back entrance less noticeable, yet they also keep him from moving as fast as he'd like in fear of making a sound accidentally. His attention is focused the pair in front of him. They appear distracted as they speak in low voices to each other and he very much wants to keep it that way. 

A risk is taken in walking normally once Baekhyun thinks he's out of sight and is close to the entrance. He allows a small bit of light from his palm to illuminate the area so he can grab the key, and he unlocks the door as slowly as he can to avoid the typically loud click that accompanies it's opening. The key is kept with him this time around as a precaution if anything and he practically tiptoes into the building. There's not much he can see with the limitations on his ability being sustained, but the outline of multiple tables and chairs scattered on the ground causes anger to boil in the pit of his stomach.

"They call me the monster," Baekhyun mutters under his breath before directing himself to the stairs leading to the attic. He's not sure what he'll find up there; he's just hoping it's nothing that'll scar him.

After months of using them, he's memorized which stairs creak the loudest and steps over them carefully. The light he created becomes brighter the farther he gets from the agents at the front of the store and by the time he goes into the room, it's shining enough to reveal the whole space. Haphazardly, he throws his hat and face mask to the side - there's no use hiding from people who've already found him.

"B-Baekhyun?"

The male turns to the source of the surly tone and rushes to her side, holding her chin in his free hand to inspect the bruises decorating her face. A plethora of questions leave his mouth, though they remain unanswered because her stare is locked on the vivid light emitting from his hand.

"Asami, listen to me!" he demands through gritted teeth. "Did those guys downstairs do this to you?" How is she so calm? Maybe she's suffering from brain damage or shock from the sudden exposure to his powers. All he wanted was for her to speak or do something, anything other than look at his ability like that.

"Your hand. You...you're him," Asami whispers in a trance he cannot break. 

"Yes, I'm Baekhyun. It's me," he responds without completely understanding what she means. If it weren't for his desperation to get them both out of there, he would've questioned her more, but there's no time. "We have to leave now, okay? You're not safe here."

She shakes her head and some consciousness returns to her eyes. "Are you safe anywhere?"

"Don't ask questions that don't have an answer."

He forces a smile before picking her up. A final glance is taken around his room because he's certain he won't be seeing it any time soon, then he hurries off down the stairs. It isn't until the very last step that suddenly a loud creak of wood resounds through the store and the men at the entrance whirl around. 

"Check it out," one of them sneers in Baekhyun's direction as he tries to sneak away, "he really did come."

The sound of their pounding footsteps urges him to run, his grip tightening on Asami's body with every second. He gets out the way he got in: out the back and through the alley that leads into the main street. Physically, he feels weak and his legs nearly give out multiple times as he struggles to carry his and her weight. Surely he looks ridiculous to anyone he's passed so far on the sidewalk. A girl in his hold and two strange people chasing after him, he's not exactly the picture of model citizenship as he is. 

"They're getting close," Asami warns him from her view over his shoulder. "We have to stop somewhere and hide." Her ability to maintain her cool despite everything she's been through that night is unexpected. Still, Baekhyun appreciates it because there's no way he can find a level head considering the current situation and - had she not said anything - he would've collapsed from his persistent attempts to keep running.

He turns an abrupt corner and dives into a 24-hour convenience store without thinking. The cashier says something unintelligible in surprise while the pair conceal themselves in an aisle that cannot be seen from the front window. Baekhyun sets Asami down onto the floor, where she leans against packages of instant ramen and watches him worriedly, flinching with every wheeze he releases. He peeks over the shelves and waits for two black blurs to sprint past prior to collapsing on the ground beside her.

" those guys," he groans, wiping sweat from his forehead and chin weakly. Things have just begun to feel calm enough for his muscles to relax when he hears loud, staccato breathing and realizes she's hyperventilating. "Asami, it's okay. We're okay. They're gone." Baekhyun shifts to kneel in front of her as opposed to at her side and tries to wipe tears off her cheeks, but she jerks away.

"Why me?" she asks hysterically and repeats it until they stop sounding like words. "I don't know what's going on and I-I'm freaked out and c-confused and you! I've seen you in dreams before! W-Who even are you?"

His eyebrows furrow, "Wait a minute, you need to calm down first. You're gonna pass out if you don't."

"Calm down?" she yells and he shushes her while ensuring that no one is coming to check on them. "Why should I calm down?!" It's not easy to figure out how to approach this with the contradicting flood of tears on her cheeks and anger tinting her tone, though Baekhyun knows it's warranted albeit difficult to deal with.

"Because we're in a convenience store, for god's sake!" he bites back roughly, understanding that being gentle is getting him nowhere. "I know I have a lot to explain, but I can't do that if you don't cooperate." This seems to barely mollify her, enough that she listens and follows him as he leads her through breathing exercises that stabilize her oxygen intake.

"I want answers," Asami demands once he's finished helping her. There's no room for excuses this time, he's sure of it. However, the shop's cameras burn at his back and paranoia makes an itch crawl up the back of his neck.

"This isn't the place." He looks around and motions to the cashier, who's become steadily more suspecting of their appearance. At this point, the older man has stopped trying to hide his blatant glare of accusation he's been throwing at them since they entered.

"If not here, then where?" She's skeptical of him and he can't say he blames her. The girl who use