They took two vans. They took the same van as they did at the Rave. Jinah was quite pleased to be in a different van from Xiumin. His glares and eye rolling really annoyed her, but she knew she wasn’t any better. They dropped off at 4MINUTE & SISTAR’s place to get prepped up and to return the accessories and shoes they borrowed for the Rave. Soyu and Bora immediately bombarded questions at Jinah about her first time at the Rave and Fang. Jinah told them the whole story as Soyu and Bora put the accessories back into place. They were attentive listeners and caught Jinah’s every word. Soyu shouted a cheer and lifted the mascara away from Jinah’s eyes to do a little happy dance, when Jinah got to the part about her punching Chunji. She got another cheer from Bora when she told them about Ricky’s bloody head. She mentioned Dongwoon and Junhyung, and they just rolled their eyes.

          “Did you see Hyorin?” Bora asked hopefully.

          Jinah her lips. “I didn’t. Sorry. I didn’t see any of their Prixes, actually…”

          Bora gave her a small smile. “Don’t be sorry. There’s nothing to be sorry about. Did you enjoy you time at the Rave?”

          Did I?

          “Not…really…but it was memorable. So yeah, kind of. Sort of.”

          “Did you dance? Get drunk?”

          Soyu frowned at her, and Jinah tried not to grimace as she answered truthfully. “No, I didn’t. But…” she swallowed. “I got a sip of vodka…maybe…”

          Bora asked how, and Jinah explained. Soyu burst out laughing. She was laughing so much, she had to stop curling Jinah’s hair. Bora complimented Jinah for her bravery (which Jinah wasn’t proud of), and asked how she managed with the vodka. Jinah evaded the question by clearing and changing the topic, “Almost done?”

          Soyu chuckled the last bits of her laughter as she resumed her curling. “Almost.”

         After about another ten minutes, Jinah was done and ready to go. She looked strong, vicious, and like a female gangster. Her eyeliner was bold, sharp, and thick. There was no sign of pink around her cheeks, making her look colder and fiercer than usual. Only the ends of her hair and bangs were curled. Her black pants went well with the whole gangster look. Her white shirt was simple, opaque, and enough to hint her body figure. The black team jacket really topped everything off well. Jinah was still inwardly frolicking in happiness.

         “Hey…what’s that on your shoulder?” Jinah asked at the strange scar on Soyu’s right shoulder. “It looks like –”

          Soyu stiffened. She cursed herself for wearing a strapless dress. The scar had become a part of her so it didn’t even affect her anymore. She stopped noticing it, too. She didn’t even realize how exposed her scar was. She had nothing to cover it up with (Hyuna wasn’t a fan of cardigans), so she told Jinah the truth. Only one word was needed though.

          “Fang.”

          “What the – they cut you?!”

          “There’s more.”

          Jinah would have questioned her further…if it wasn’t for that sad smile on Soyu’s face. She was close to tears. Another sensitive spot. Jinah may be inquisitive and her curiosity may be irrepressible and insatiable, but she was human. She wasn’t going to press such a topic on a girl with a history like Soyu. From the way Bora bit down her lower lip and didn’t brightly comment on the weather or something, it was clear that Soyu wasn’t the only one who was abused with knives.

As expected, the gang looked great. They looked similar from how they did when they prepared the gang for the Rave five days ago – only this time, Jinah looked a whole lot scarier and tougher, rather than enticing and inviting. She gave an immediate confident, imperious, and intimidating aura, one that the gang always had around them.

          Suho grinned at her, “You look great.”

          “Let’s go,” Jinah said, straightening her team jacket, which she was a lot more happy about than she let on.

          Chanyeol chucked his hands in his pockets, ready to leave. But he shot Jinah a question: “I look better than this kid, right?” Chanyeol pushed Suho’s head to the side with a finger, who glared at him.

          “You guys look identical.”

          Suho and Chanyeol scoffed and the two started arguing about who looked better.

          “Obviously I look better than you, derp king!”

          “Your hair looks retarded. It’s me. You know it, too. You’re just jealous,” Chanyeol insisted arrogantly.

          “Who even has black hair nowadays?!”

          “Kai! Chen! Don’t forget that Basic chick a couple days ago. And you already admitted that I was good-looking. At the Rave, remember.”

          “Guys, shut up, we’re in public,” D.O mumbled.

          Kai rolled his eyes at them. “Idiots.”

          They went back to the van and their respective drivers drove. On the way to the broadcast building, Jinah finally asked what they were being interviewed on, and why. Chen just smiled at her and told her to answer the host’s questions with a smile and politely, and to pretend like Wolf was the best thing that had ever happened to her. Dissatisfied with the answer, she frowned, but the way Chen smiled unnerved her, so she kept quiet. Fang was going to be there, she knew. They wouldn’t report her for punching – what was his name, Chunji? – because Seonah said no. And the authority Seonah had – it was impressive. Not only that; it would hurt their reputation. An untouchable Top Gang Member, beaten up by a girl?

          Sehun slowed down and parked the van in an underground parking lot. The gang climbed out and started walking towards the glass entrance, but Jinah slowed down at the sight of something that made her feel uncanny. As the gang moved together to the entrance, she stayed behind and changed directions – towards one of the thick blocks, separating the lot by section. Made with the same material as the walls, the blocks had markings on them that consisted of a letter and a number. But what caught Jinah’s attention wasn’t the unusual and unfamiliar sight of outside. Sure, the luxury of being able to go out wherever (at her dwelling, she would have had dwelling boundaries) and whenever (no more curfew!) she wanted, was still splendid and the amazement was new, but this…this was neither splendid nor amazing.

           “Jinah?” Luhan asked, twisting his neck a bit to glance at Jinah. “Is everything…okay?”

           Jinah gulped. She pointed at the large stain on the block, the same substance splattered on the ground near it. Dark, filthy, dripping. “What is that?” she asked in a whisper.

          Luhan blinked in confusion and curiosity as he stepped back to glance at where she was pointing. He heaved a sigh when he caught sight of it, and all confusion and curiosity vanished. He went over to her, took Jinah by her shoulders, and steered her away. “Let’s go.”

        She stepped away from him and frantically pointed back at the terrible red stain. “Is that blood?!”

          He looked at her solemnly. He sighed again, and took her wrist. Just before she tried prying his fingers away and insisting he answer her, he said, “Yes.” It was the answer she dreaded and feared. Blood. There was a whole pool of that nightmarish red on the ground and it was seeping through the block. That was the blood of someone. Jinah didn’t know how much blood it took for someone to die, but anyone knew that if you had to lose that much blood in an instant, all at once, you must’ve been hurt quite drastically. He didn’t look back at her, so he didn’t see the empty look on Jinah’s face. But he remembered how he felt when he first fought as a gang, when he first hurt someone…and his first kill.

         He numbly dragged her to the entrance, and broke into a jog with her when they saw their members file into the elevator. Jinah followed, feeling hollow. Elevators in DE were extra large and faster because buildings were taller and people traveled in larger packs. These were the remnants of the peak of science technology. Things were advanced.

         The look of disbelief and disgust didn’t leave Jinah’s face, even as the elevator went up several floors. Luhan let out a small sigh and ran a hand through his hair, beginning to regret his decision a bit. Maybe I shouldn’t have told her? Damn it, but what else could that have been?! Cranberry juice?!

         “Jinah, just smile and answer politely, okay?” Chen reminded her, sounding just a tad nervous. “Smile and polite. Be like… like a Pacem, or Caritatis. Pretend like you love us – well, you won’t really have to pretend.” He winked at her at the half-joke but she was unresponsive. So he cleared his throat and continued on with his serious advice. “Be naïve and innocent okay? Good image means good money. More people vote us as ‘best gang’ and we get cash. Don’t let your –”

         “Okay.”

         Chen stopped talking. There was something off about her. She seemed fine this morning – actually, quite great, especially with the gift and everything. Did the euphoria die already? He gave Luhan, who came in late with her, a questioning look. Chen knew that Luhan could feel his gaze, but he also knew that Luhan was pretending that he didn’t feel it. Sighing in defeat, Chen gave up. He watched the numbers on the little screen go up as they reached the twenty-second floor.

          “Show time,” Chanyeol whispered, rubbing his hands together as the elevator’s doors opened and the gang filed out.

          Many men and very few women were in the halls, going in and out of rooms. Doors were opening and closing, and they caught bits of conversations and dialogue. They were talking about news, reporters, photos, scandals, gangs, Prixes, dwelling updates, technology updates, schedules, timelines, reports, and more. Nothing that really concerned the gang or Jinah since DE was practically circled around gangs and Prixes.

          They went to the room at the very end. The door was pink and bright, and on top was a sign that was lit. RECORDING.  Suho led the way to the backstage, where they would be cued to enter. They quietly crept in, since being obnoxiously loud would ruin their image and was against the rules.

          The backstage was dark and quiet. People had headsets attached and were either talking into those or their walkie-talkies. They were busy, but eventually, someone spotted the gang and pushed them towards the tall curtains.

          “Go in when Cheonsa announces your –”

          “Thank you, Fang! Now, gentlemen and ladies, we’ll be having Wolf over with their unexpected Prix! After a five-minute commercial break, that is. Stay tuned. See you soon!”

          “Cut! Okay, good job, Cheonsa.”

          A female and male voice. Cheonsa was the host, the female. The male was the director. Jinah peeked over and saw Cheonsa, a blonde-haired woman in a white business dress, take a swig from her water bottle. Women rushed over and patted her face with fresh foundation or re-glossed her rouge lips. Five minutes was all they had. Fang came towards them, finished with their interview.

          “Oh, lookie, it’s Wolf!” a Fang said. He was clearly a pothead. He had blonde-brown hair that was gelled up at the front, and had thick, full lips. Thicker than Kai’s. From his slack posture to silly smirk, he was definitely an experienced gangster. “Hey, Chunji, Ricky, Doojun! Your friends are here!”

          Kai smirked when she saw Ricky’s dilated pupils. He had a concussion. His smirk remained plastered on his face when he saw the satisfying cut on Chunji’s lip and bruise on his jaw. Jinah didn’t care about any of their injuries. The other guy, Doojun, was tall and buff. She vaguely remembered him at the Rave.

          “Niel, shut up,” a short, red-haired boy said.

          “Kikwang!” the pothead-seeming boy, Niel, slung an arm around the said male. “Kikwang, Kikwang…isn’t the Prixie that you were interested in Wolf’s?”

          “No you idiot, that’s Hyungseung…will you shut up now…”