You could see them sitting there, calm as they could please. Settling for privacy, Sector Beast had broken into an abandoned warehouse off the edge of a long-forgotten factory in the greenbelt of Seoul. There grabbed old crates and boxes and settled them into a circle, talking quietly amongst themselves, too low for you to hear.

"We know you're there," one of them called out lazily. "Please don't insult our enhanced senses."

Your breath caught in your throat, and, heart hammering, you slowly slid out from your hiding spot near the entrance and into the open, praying you wouldn't get killed right then and there.

One of them, the tall one you were pretty sure was called Doojoon, stood up and walked towards you. Slowly, earthling-like, taking his time. Like a wild animal stalking scared prey.

"You ... Seo Lina, was it?" Doojoon said slowly, eyeing you carefully. "What makes you come here, into enemy territory, so brazenly?"

You swallowed thickly, feeling your legs quake. This was the stupidest idea you ever thought of. "I-I am unarmed," you stammered weakly. "Just c-came here to talk."

"Talk? Really?" Doojoon hesitated, a flicker of hesitation and distrust in his eyes. He turned around and went back to the others, and they muttered together for a while. I caught hints of their names, and managed to slowly piece them together. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, as Antonio would say.

"Come closer, Seo Lina," One of them, Yoseob, called out. 

You felt your nerve fail you. "C-c-can I just s-stay here?"

They rolled their eyes. "What is it you want to talk about, then?" Junhyung said. "If it's trying to convince us to back off from your planet or your alien friends, we'll kill you right here and now and end this."

You gulped and nodded. "Yeah, n-no problem. So, umm ... w-what was your life like in Mato Planet?"

They stared at you, until you started getting comfortable. "What?"

"You came all the way here into dangerous territory to ask us about our personal lives?" Kikwang demanded incredulously.

You shrugged, trying not to shiver. "Uh, yes?"

"What's your deal?" Dongwoon asked you curiously, a hint of warning in his voice. "What's your ulterior motive?"

"N-no ulterior motive!" You stammered, trying your best to give them an innocent puppy look. You weren't sure how well it was going, but hopefully your drama class lessons would get you through this alive. "Seriously, earthling scout's honour and pinky promise and all that. My 'alien friends', as you so politely call them, are a bit busy trying to get rid of you guys at the moment, and I was getting bored. So I thought maybe you could come along and be a bit more interesting."

Hyunseung and Yoseob exchanged glances and Junhyung raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely!" You stressed the word as much as possible. Maybe a bit over-the-top. "I mean, aliens are supposed to be super-cool and everything, right? But now that they're all war-mode, it's really ..." you bit your tongue over this one, and uttered a silent apology to your precious friends, "... kind of boring now. I mean, what's the point in letting them stay for free in my boarding house if they aren't gonna make my life exciting, right?"

To your intense relief, it seemed like they were buying your bratty earthling act. 

"And you think we're exciting?" Kikwang said with a smirk. "You're playing with fire, earthling."

"Well, I mean, a girl's gotta have some fun, right?" You babbled, hoping their super-alien eyes couldn't detect your sweating palms. "So I thought while they're busy running around like rabbits I could talk with the other aliens on Earth, see if they're cooler."

"If you really want to know," Doojoon said, sounding bored, "Life is harsh on Mato Planet. Since our literal birth we are placed in the care of the Army, trained as young as possible to be obedient soldiers to the government."

You nodded, feeling yourself get really interested. You knew this much about B.A.P's life, but what else?

"Our planet is dying," Dongwoon sighed, looking helpless, sad, and almost bringing sympathy out of you. "The great Eu-Ak Birds that power our cities have become extinct. Poverty is everywhere. Wild monsters are invading the towns. That's why we are part of the Army. We are the young ones. We dedicate our entire lives to serving the Company."

Chills ran up your spine, but you forced your interested grin to stay frozen on your face. "The Company? What's that?"

"Our government," Junhyung explained. "They are good and fair Matonians. They're doing whatever they can to try and save Mato Planet, but without the Eu-Ak Birds there's not much we can do anymore."

"Our mission to Earth was not just to retrieve enemies of the Company either, earthling girl," Yosoeb added. "We need to find a suitable replacement for the Eu-Ak Birds, and soon, before our planet loses all way of creating life. The second we dispose of the criminals, we must search the Earth and scavenge whatever we can to take back to the planet."

You gulped, feeling your heart drop into your stomach. You couldn't keep your voice from shaking as you said, "L-let me guess. All the water, all the plants, all the fresh soil. Maybe even the metal and oil too."

Sector Beast glanced at each other, then shrugged. "Pretty much."

"Too exciting for you, is it?" Junhyung said with a smirk.

"S-so what?" You shot at them weakly. "You're just gonna strip our planet clean? Destroy a seven billion population's home for yours? Is that right?"

"You earthlings mean nothing to us," Kikwang said coolly. "What's the point in making a fuss over a bunch of ants?"

"Don't you get it?" You cried in dispair. "The Company is not 'good' and 'fair'. They are evil! Monsters! They are the ones who are killing your planet -- for what reason, I don't know! But you can't do this! You --"

The aliens all began to stand up, not smiling and looking rather murderous. "What did you say about the Company?" Doojoon hissed, eyes flashing.

You groaned. "Oh, darn it all."

Then you reached into your pocket, pulled out a small sphere, and threw it at them. 

It landed on the ground and suddenly emitted a bright, extremely powerful light. The aliens were thrown backwards, howling in pain. You had already turned and began to run at that point. You reached the exit of the warehouse and felt an arm wrap around you and lift you up.

"Thanks for waiting!" You gasped in fear, still shaking and feeling like you might throw up.

"I can't believe you actually survived that!" Youngjae snapped, running like the wind. "Actually, screw that. I can't believe I let you do that!" 

"It w-worked in the end, right?" You said with a weak grin. "How did that flash bomb thing work on them anyway?"

"Simple alien warfare technology," Youngjae explained, not sounding out of breath despite literally running without stopping. "That light contained traces of cosmic stardust, which is really painful to Matonians if concentrated in doses like that. We're lucky that idiot Jongup still had some with him or we'd never get this to work."

"Yeah, I -- wait! Stop!"

"Lina, you pabo, I don't think you understand. We are currently about to be chased by six very murderous and very pissed-off aliens. I can't just stop!"

"Yes, you can! Please, Youngjae!"

Youngjae groaned and slowed to a stop. You jumped off his back and ran to the ramyeon shop, where Ramyeon Ahjusshi was getting ready to close for the day.

He looked startled when you ran in. "Lina? What happened? You weren't here today, is everything --"

"Ahjusshi, listen to me," you gasped. "I care for you dearly and I will always be grateful for your kindness and friendship. But something very very bad -- as in, potentially life-destroying bad -- is happening right now and I have to leave. I don't know when or if I can come back, so you should probably consider hiring someone else. Just please be safe, alright?"

"Lina, what --" But you had already turned and ran back out, feeling tears well up in your eyes. I can't lose this fight. Not with Ramyeon Ahjusshi, and Antonio, and Hyoju and Jisu ... not with these people's lives on the line.

You almost ran right into somebody, who stumbled and snapped, "Watch it -- oh, it's Loserina."

It was Taena. She smirked when she saw your tears. "Crying again? Over what, Loserina? Your pointless life?" Her friends giggled.

You almost felt hurt by that ... then you realized you honestly, truly, did not give a flying rat's what Taena thought of you or what she said to you. This revelation blew you away.

Taena didn't matter. So you didn't fit in at school. So you were plain. So you weren't good at studying. But you did have friends, and your life wasn't pointless. In fact, your life was currently more important that Taena's would ever be. And when you left high school, you will probably never see her again, and she honestly didn't deserve your tears or humiliation. She didn't even deserve your anger or punches. She didn't deserve anything from you. You didn't hate her. You felt nothing towards her; and you knew that was the worst thing you could inflict on her.

You looked her straight in the eye and said "You're not worth it."

You caught only a glimpse of her shocked face before you were running back into Youngjae's arms, and he took off again.

"Was that necessary?"

"Yes, it was."

Youngjae grinned. "Then let's go into space."