With a low groan, Jisoo ran a hand over his tired face while trudging down the grey, almost empty corridors of Aegis on his way to finally meet his partner. He was reluctant to go, even more so after last night. Another Being he knew nothing about, another challenge: They would have to get along somehow.

The knot in his stomach, that had been growing since he had encountered the ghouls, pulsed painfully.

He would have to face greater threats than just ghouls together with his partner. They would have to rely on each other, have each other's backs. A Human and a Being. What would happen if he couldn't do it?

Jisoo felt trapped. Forced into a corner. His nerves were stretched tight like piano wires. The experience of the past evening had shaken him more than everything he had endured so far although he couldn't pinpoint why. Because he had been scared for his life? Because he still felt betrayed? Because he felt violated?

He could feel his breaking point looming close by.

But even through his mounting tension, it was hard to keep his eyes open. It had taken him ages to fall asleep. Every small sound in the unfamiliar flat had alarmed him; every shadow had looked like Kai who had returned to finish what he had started. Jisoo had waited in the dark, ready to hide or flee or fight. But nobody had come.

And as soon as he had finally managed to fall asleep, fingers had started crawling over his skin, leaving a confusing mixture of fear and arousal in their wake. Each time he had woken up with a start, his heart had been beating out of his chest and his pyjamas had been soaked with sweat.

After the fourth time, he had decided to give up and to brew a pot of strong coffee instead. In silence, he had watched the sun rise over the skyline of Seoul.

Without warning, something wrapped tightly around his neck.

The monk managed to choke out a scream and whirled around in an attempt to punch whatever had him in its grasp - but Chen easily deflected his fist.

"Rascal, you left without me," the Being scolded, his Cheshire cat grin in full force.

The arm around Jisoo's neck loosened and he gasped for air, his heart racing in his chest. Something pinched in his stomach and suddenly it was all too much.

Chen's smile dimmed when the monk's shoulders began to shake. "Uh.. are you okay?" The Being took a hasty step back at the sight of Jisoo's tears. "Woah! I just wanted to scare you a little! Come on, stop crying!"

If he hadn't been so exhausted, Jisoo would have laughed at the panicked expression on the other male's face - but in his current, frazzled state it only made him cry harder.

Everything was Chen's fault anyway. He needed to take at least some sort of responsibility.

Jisoo hiccuped when the Being yanked him into an empty office. Fruitlessly, he tried to wiggle out of the tight grip on his arm but Chen was having none of it. Instead, the honey-blond held him in place and leaned towards him which only made Jisoo struggle harder. When Chen's eyes turned silver, he tensed in fear.

"What-?"

"Calm down. It's going to be alright."

As soon as their foreheads touched, serenity washed through the monk - the same peaceful sensation that usually came with long hours of mediation. With a relieved sigh, Jisoo closed his eyes and relaxed, uncaring that he was currently pressed against a Being.

He was floating, pain and fear gone. Deep inside his core, everything was bright and silent. He had missed this. Ever since the attacks on the monastery had started, he hadn't been able to achieve the feeling of pure tranquillity.

"Ugh, that was Kai, wasn't it?"

Chen's angry voice ripped him out of his peaceful state but the calmness it had brought lingered. The monk opened his eyes only to find Chen wiping his hands as if they were tainted with dirt, a deep frown of disgust on his face.

It took a moment for the monk to collect himself before he could answer. The contrast between the real world and the place he went while he was mediating was always jarring. "He brought my stuff yesterday." For some reason, the look Chen shot him made him flush. He quickly stepped away from the Being to rub his face with his sleeves. It was embarrassing how wet his cheeks were. "How did you know?" he asked, his voice muffled by the fabric.

"Kai leaves a claim on people he feasts on," Chen explained with enough revulsion in his tone to make the monk flinch. "It's quite noticeable to my species so I got rid of it. He didn't devour you, though, otherwise you wouldn't be able to get out of bed today." That sounded more like he was talking to himself than to Jisoo. His eyes focused back on the monk after a short, thoughtful silence. "So, what stopped him?"

Jisoo avoided his gaze, the calmness that had enveloped him slowly dissipating. He wanted to talk to someone about yesterday's events, he needed to, for the sake of his sanity - but he wasn't sure whether Chen was the right person.

"Soonyoung did."

A small smile began to play on Chen's lips. "Well, well, well. Kai and Soonyoung. Quite popular, aren't you?"

Definitely not the right person. But the only person willing to listen.

Before he could stop himself, Jisoo blurted out what had been weighing him down the past 13 hours. "They did... something. I don't know what exactly but... it felt... I feel-" He searched for words to describe how embarrassed he was, how betrayed and violated and vulnerable he felt - but he couldn't find any. "I don't know what happened to me," he finished shakily, his voice almost a whisper. "It was scary." He tried to swallow the tears that threatened to overflow for the second time this morning. Shame was making it difficult to meet Chen's eyes but he forced himself to look up anyway.

The Being was examining him, his face uncharacteristically serious. It was a relief that he wasn't grinning or making jokes. The silence stretched painfully until Chen finally spoke, his voice low. "Nobody cares about you here, Jisoo."

The blunt words hurt. Somehow, hearing it spoken out loud made it worse even though he had known it all along. He was a newcomer after all. And not a popular one.

"Nobody is going to protect you - that's why it needs to be your top priority to protect yourself. Don't trust anyone; it doesn't matter how nice they seem. Deep down, we're all monsters."

The soles of his sneakers squeaked on the linoleum floor.

Jisoo felt calmer now that he had let out some of his feelings. In his opinion, he even looked somewhat decent again since he had washed his face in one of the employee bathrooms after Chen had given him another small boost with his ability - whatever it was.

The Being had already proven a few times that he enjoyed twisting the truth to his liking but Jisoo couldn't help but appreciate his guidance - a little at least. Thanks to him, he felt a lot more like his usual self again, even though the situation ahead was still nerve-wracking and Chen's warning didn't exactly help to make him feel more at ease. But he would do it somehow. He would prove the Beings (and himself) that he wasn't as useless as they thought he was. That he wasn't someone to toy with.

The prayer beads around his neck clinked when he kicked the floor with a frown. Without even giving it a thought, his fingers tangled into them, the smooth surface of the beads immediately helping him to calm down.

He would find a way to get along with his partner, with his team, and he would find a way to get a hang of his ability. One of Buddha's teachings was that a strong mind was the first