---

As soon as Jongin and Agim make it inside Jongin's apartment again, Jongin locks the door behind them before they both pause with senses on high alert.

They both then quickly glance at each other after noticing that the curtains are open (which when they left, they were closed) and that there's someone humming a tune around the corner. And Jongin's just about to transform again until a very familiar voice calls out Nini-bear, is that you? in Korean and he quickly relaxes as he realizes that it's just his ma. But then he quickly looks down at Agim with wider eyes as he takes off his shoes and sets them on his shoe rack.

Jongin's always been a dog person growing up, and even spent a lot of time researching cheap apartments that allow dogs (and cats), so if his ma sees Agim who's very much not a dog, there'd be a whole lotta questions.

They then hear her footsteps as she gets closer and Jongin quickly whispers for Agim to hide right before his ma turns the corner and sees him trying to shoo away a curious Agim.

It's a moment of silence between the three of them as Jongin's ma furrows her eyebrows in confusion at the sight of Agim before she fully takes notice of the faint bruises on Jongin and rushes over as she asks him in Korean what happened.

"How did this person get into your home?" Agim inquires beside him, eyes wide. "And why are you not scared of them? Are they related to you?"

"Ma, hey hey--I'm good, no worries," Jongin replies in Korean, before he lets out an Oof as his ma pulls him into a bear-hug. (With her being a head shorter than him.)

Agim seems to understand the situation (and language change quickly) as he seems to relax from his arched back position. Meanwhile, Jongin's ma pulls away from the hug and cups his cheeks to examine and brush away the scruffs of dirt and grass and such before she again asks him what happened to him.

"You weren't out there while that monster was attacking the city, were you?" she then asks.

And Jongin blinks with wider eyes at that before he flits a quick glance down at Agim. She couldn't recognize me?

He's always found it hard to lie to his ma's face though so his lack of a response lets her know that he was in fact out and about while the monster attack happened. She lets out a Tch and lightly swats at his shoulder before she informs him to listen to the news when they say to stay inside.

"You saw that big crowd around that monster earlier. All of those people...eaten and stomped on because their curiosity was too great." She sighs. "Well, thankfully that hero in the hanbok was there to save the day..."

Jongin lets out a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, I-I wonder where they came from."

His ma then lets out a Hm and tugs her lips to the side as she looks up at him before she looks back down at Agim and asks why he has a cat here. She then takes a good step back and bends down to Agim's height, and Jongin just watches in awe as she carefully offers the back of her hand for him to smell.

Agim looks up at him with wider eyes and Jongin mouths for him to play along, which he thankfully gets since he arches his head closer to sniff her hand. She then sweeps the back of her hand against his left cheek and Jongin smiles a bit as he sees Agim relax and arch his head into the touch. Then, in literal seconds she's petting the top of his head, rubbing down his back and even scritching behind his ears--something Agim definitely seems to enjoy, judging by how he's leaning in for more with his eyes closed.

"Wow, ma, he loves you," Jongin replies with a chuckle.

She grins up at him and laughs along. "Are you surprised?"

She then moves to scoop up Agim into her arms, supporting him by his chest and , and holds him tight to her before she continues to gently pet him. But then, she gets right to it as she asks Jongin, "So, where'd you find him, huh?"

"Uhhh...outside? He was on the uh side of the biking trail I was on and I just--I-I couldn't leave him, so--yeah," Jongin responds.

"But I thought you rented this place to bring one of the babies here eventually so...why is he here and not at a shelter?" (The babies being his three family dogs: Monggu, Jjanggu, and Jjangah.)

"Uh--um, well, I--"

"Jongin," Agim murmurs, and Jongin stops to look at him. He then switches to speaking in Korean too. "My goodness, you're bad at lying to her, aren't you?"

Jongin stretches his lips into a thin line after almost responding to Agim, and his ma then asks him what he plans to do since he's obviously formed a bond with him. Oh how Jongin wishes he could telepathically communicate with Agim because if he could, he'd be able to come up with a better lie than the one he says now--

"I um, I think I found my muse in him," Jongin responds.

And if Agim could shake his head in disbelief in his current position, he definitely would judging by the judgmental look he gives him as Jongin's ma repeats back, Your...muse?

"Yeah, so um I'll figure out how to keep him here somehow but in the meantime..." He then reaches his arms out for Agim who jumps out of her arms and onto his shoulder, and quickly rearranges his stance to support him like that. "Um thanks for stopping by."

"Okay...what are you hiding?" she asks, putting her hands on her hips.

"Huh? Whaddya mean?"

"You have bruises on your arms, a stray cat who looks just like the one in Sailor Moon, and you want me to leave without even asking if I brought you any food? Seriously, what's going on?"

"Ma, I..." Jongin starts, not knowing how to explain himself really.

"Are you in danger? Is it this neighborhood?" she asks with concern, reaching to hold his free hand with both of her own. "Nini, what can I do to help you, hm?"

"I--"

"Jongin," Agim murmurs against his shoulder and Jongin lets out a hum. "Please. At this point just tell her the truth because I cannot take this back and forth anymore."

"B-but are you sure it's okay though?" Jongin mumbles under his breath in English.

Agim lets out a sigh and a Yes.

So, Jongin then looks back down at his ma who looks up at him with furrowed eyebrows still, before Agim jumps from his shoulder to the ground and he takes in a deep breath.

"Umm, I think...it'd probably be easier to just show ya what I'm dealing with, ma," Jongin supplies.

And her eyes widen with both concern and confusion right before he takes out his earring and instantly transforms into his hero form, Garnet Heart. His ma's obviously taken aback at his transformation, seeing as how her hands are now over while she repeatedly says in Korean, Oh my gosh!

"Uhhh ta-da?" Jongin says with a nervous smile and his arms out as he gives jazz hands.

His ma honestly looks one second away from fainting though...until Agim starts speaking again and she actually does faint since Agim's apparently allowing her to understand him now. Jongin quickly catches his ma in his arms before she can even truly fall to the floor and then lets out a sigh as he glances over at an apologetic Agim.

---

Jongin's ma wakes up some seconds later, and by this time Jongin has placed her down on his small couch in a sitting position while he stands nearby. When he sees her regain consciousness again, he quickly apologizes to her while deeply pouting as he talks and explains to her about everything that's happened to him so far.

When he gets to talking about how scared he initially felt when fighting that giant monster, she pulls him into a big bear hug and gently rubs his back up and down before saying, "Aww, you fought well--oh wow, what material is this? Is this all real silk?!"

"Mmph," he simply replies, feeling like a little kid again as she pulls away from the hug and pets his hair now--going Ooh and Oh wow over how long it is.

No matter the time or distance, his ma's always been and always will be a big support for him. Well, unless he acts completely idiotic.

Either way, he feels like a weight's been lifted off his shoulders after he's finished updating her on everything that's been going on, and feels so thankful as she tells him that his secret's safe with her. He thanks her with another quick hug and a peck on the cheek, and she smiles before she asks him why he doesn't wear a half-mask with his costume and a bunch of other questions that he tries to answer as they come.

According to Agim, apparently whenever he's in his hero form, a sort of glamour shield surrounds him and makes it so that even those closest to him won't know it's him unless he tells them or transforms right in front of them. Though there are very perceptive individuals who may be able to see past the glamour, like his ma's friends, Auntie Sandra and Uncle Lupe. ((During his battle with that giant, his ma was apparently over at her friends' home (they're next door neighbors) watching the live video, and his aunt and uncle quickly saw through his glamour.))

"I actually convinced them that there's no way it could be you, but turns out that they were actually right all along haha," she says while Jongin pouts as he thinks back to the fight. "Hey, I'm not gonna tell them."

Jongin sighs. "I know. It's just--honestly this day's been a lot already."

"Aww, my little hero." She then pats his knee and carefully gets up from the couch before turning to him. "Let me make you some food then, hm? Okay? Okay."

She then walks over to his kitchen before he can even reply, and he turns his head to ask her what she's going to make. With a grin, she replies Your favorite before turning the corner towards the kitchen and Agim smiles as Jongin leaps up from the couch and bounds over while saying to his ma, Ooh, let me help.

---

And so, the rest of Jongin's day and then night is spent hanging out with his ma and Agim; eating amazing homecooked food (seriously, nothing beats homecooked meals from his ma), cry-laughing with his ma at a funny Korean drama, listening to his ma and Agim as she asks Agim a bunch of questions, and taking a nap that turns into legit slumber on his couch.

At one point, he wakes up in his bed and wonders to himself how his ma dragged him there before he remembers the vaguest memory of being guided to bed while in and out of sleep. Then, after checking the time and seeing that it's only around one o'clock