run.

—  BASICS

Name:  Jitae  Sun Age  /  D.O.B.:  29  01/09/1992 Gender,  Pronouns  &  Sexuality:  Male,  He/Him,  Straight Hometown:  Born  in  Busan,  Korea,  raised  in  Mansfield,  MA Affiliation:  Civilian/The  Brotherhood Job  position:  Lawyer Education:  B.A  in  Criminal  Justice,  graduated  from  Harvard  Law Relationship  status:  Single Children:  n/a Positive  traits:  assertive,  calculating,  adaptable,  driven,  perceptive   Negative  traits:  vexatious,  enigmatic,  garrulous,  selective,  wily

—  BIOGRAPHY

tw;  kidnapping,  missing  person

he  was  not  fortunate  enough  to  be  born  into  money,  but  he  would  not  say  he  grew  up  poor.  in  fact,  despite  not  having  much  growing  up,  and  as  corny  as  it  sounds,  he  was  perhaps  more  wealthy  than  those  of  his  peers.  while  the  lack  of  money  was  always  an  issue  for  the  sun  family,  the  family  of  four  were  extremely  close  knit.  his  family  worked  hard  to  make  ends  meet,  but  they  did  it  together.  always  supporting  one  another  on  whatever  path  they  choose  for  themselves.  

it  was  through  hard  work,  and  a  lot  of  studying,  and  scholarships,  that  he  was  able  to  go  to  college.  harvard,  at  that.  while  he  could  have  gone  to  any  college  or  university  to  study  law,  but  jitae  was  taught  to  aim  high.  

  it  was  during  his  time  studying  at  harvard  that  he  learned  of  his  sister's  disappearance.  a  fun  trip  to  new  york  with  some  of  her  old  high  school  friends,  turned  tragic.  none  of  the  girls  of  the  girls  could  say  what  happened;  one  minute  seulgi  was  there,  the  next  she  was  gone.  thought  she  went  back  to  the  hotel,  only  to  still  be  missing  in  the  morning.  was  it  around  this  time  that  he  changed  as  a  person?  

his  sister  has  been  missing  for  six  years  now,  and  they  know  just  as  much  as  they  did  the  night  she  disappeared.  it  was  probably  the  lack  of  information,  the  feeling  of  nothing  being  done  by  the  nypd  that  lead  to  jitae  coming  to  new  york;  to  look  into  things  himself.  as  for  working  with  the  brotherhood;    they  paid  him,  in  more  ways  than  one.

—  MISC

has  a  sister  named,  seulgi,  who  has  been  missing  for  six  years.  while  people  tell  him  that  she  is  probably  no  longer  alive.  he  still  holds  out  hope  that  she  is,  and  that  he'll  find  her.  

he  doesn't  talk  about  his  family  or  his  about  his  sister  to  anyone  he  doesn't  trust.  which  is  many,  if  there  is  anyone.  he  doesn't  know  when  it  happened  but  sees  people  how  he  used  too  and  now  keeps  people  are  an  arms  length

that  being  said,  jitae  purposely  pokes  the  bear,  playing  the  part  of  the  fool  to  throw  people  off.  his  true  persona  is  that  of  a  serious  and  quiet  nature.  those  he  deals  with  on  a  professional  level  (the  brotherhood),  will  see  both  sides  of  him  depending  on  the  situation  at  hand.      

while  he  is  no  detective  by  any  means,  he  no  longer  trusts  the  nypd  to  find  his  sister.  along  with  many  other  reasons.    

parents  own  a  small  korean  restaurant.  him  and  sister  would  spend  a  few  afternoons  helping  out  when  they  got  out  of  school.

—  WANTED  CONNECTIONS  /  PLOTS

wee  woo,  this  is  the  police  (?/1);  someone  from  law  enforcement  that  handles  his  sister's  disappearance  case.  this  would  be  someone  who  actually  knows  who  jitae  is.  perhaps  from  time  to  time  provides  updates,  which  can  be  plotted  out.

The pair of green eyes expressed gratitude as the young man kept their conversation going into another, safer direction… Onto some more of his surprisingly humorous groaning. Nora tilted her head to the side and pressed her lips together in order to stifle a chuckle. “Is there a celebration you actually like? –No, let me guess, Valentine’s is your day, for sure,” she teased, but back to the more burning topic at hand. “Excited about NYE, hmm?” Everyone liked to use superlatives to describe NYE, but if Nora had to label it, she’d choose: “… The trickiest night of the year, especially in the City. The expectations are high, the morals are low, everyone goes crazy– this time not in costume but in glitter.” A beat as she mused. “I have to admit, I like watching the fireworks– but from a distance. If I’m on a hill, far away from the center of it all– overlooking it.”

As promised, Nora slid over her pastry of choice– she’d never admit it, but secretly, she did hope it’d earn her some sort of positive reaction out of the man. “Something tells me moving back isn’t an option for you– an impeccable intuition, I know.” A wink. “Do you think your parents would take me instead of you? Haven’t been to Korea yet,” it was bold of her to add the ‘yet’ since there was no going anywhere without the Cartel giving her the green light first. “Would you be leaving something– or someone behind if you left?” A sip of her strong coffee and a hum of approval and a nod of approval before returning her gaze to the young man.

x.

“  oh  damn~  i’ve  been  found  out,  ”  he  said  dramatically,  snapping  his  fingers.  actually,  thinking  about  it,  he  wasn’t  particularly  fond  of  any  holiday.  he  really  was  a  scrooge.  oof.  “  yes,  but  not  for  reasons  one  might  thing,  and  nothing  that  includes  the  actual  holiday  itself,  ”  he  gave  a  short  laugh,  but  didn’t  elaborate  the  reason.  “  expectations  are  always  high,  and  morals  are  always  low,  no  matter  the  day;  it’s  new  york.  ”  he  looked  over  at  her,  resting  his  head  on  the  palm  of  his  hand.  “  though  i  do  agree,  fireworks  look  much  better  when  you  are  viewing  them  from  afar,  then  up  close.  can  i  recommend  watching  them  from  a  boat?  ”

now,  jitae  isn’t  saying  he’s  a  slut  for  food,  but  maybe.  for  a  man  who  forgets  to  feed  himself  on  the  daily,  food  was  definitely  a  weakness  of  his.  dangle  food  in  front  of  him  and  he’d  do  whatever  you  wanted,  within  reason  (  again,  maybe  ).  surely,  if  his  enemies  found  out  —  he’d  be  ruined.  “  do  you  do  palm  reading  too?  can  you  see  my  future?  ”  he  teased,  already  stuffing  his  face,  a  twinkle  in  his  eye.  “  they  might.  they’d  certainly  put  you  too  work  though  —  hope  you’re  good  at  cooking.  on  a  serious  note,  i  recommend  going  whenever  you  get  the  chance.  i  even  know  a  pretty  cheap  tour  guide  you  could  hire.  ”  

his  smile  faltered  for  a  brief  moment  at  her  question,  and  he  was  quick  to  reassemble  it.  “  not  particularly.  ”  he  wasn't  sure  how  to  answer  without  telling  the  whole  story;  the  truth.  he  didn’t  know  why  he  wanted  to  keep  it  a  secret  in  the  first  place.  maybe  it  was  the  looks  of  pity  the  received  every  time  someone  found  out.  maybe  he  was  just  tired  of  hearing  the  same  speeches  over  and  over.  the  speeches  where  they  started  with  ‘i’m  sorry  for  your  loss,’  and  ended  in  a  lecture  about  him  to  moving  on,  to  let  the  police  handle  everything.  fine  job  they’ve  been  doing  so  far.  they  could  hardly  handle  the  gangs  that  currently  ruled  the  city.  “  it’s  a  hard  question  to  answer  without  going  into  detail,  but  there’s  something  i  want  to  finish  before  i,  if  i  decide  too,  leave  new  york.  “

-

it would be a lie to say he’d thought more than once about telling jitae that he needed to start taking care of himself first, but it sounded a little too close to maybe you should give up on looking for your sister, and that wasn’t a line he was willing to cross with his friend just yet. but still, seeing him like this, it made his heart hurt - good men who deserved better. good people who deserved much better than a life filled with grief and uncertainty. 

“i’ve got a lot of money and a security company?” he half-joked, trying not to let his worry slip through. he took a seat beside jitae at the table, leaning back into the chair with his arms crossed in front of his chest. all the money and resources in the world and he still wished he could do more than just sit here and try to make sure jitae was getting enough sleep and eating. 

speaking of. 

“coffee’s great and all but have you had anything to eat today?” jin asked, risking sounding like a worried parent. “i think they’ve got soup and sandwiches here? or if you want, i’ll go grab you something and bring it back.” 

a beat later, he adds, “tell your mom i said hi, too. and please tell her that i miss her cooking.” 

x.

all  that  money,  and  a  security,  and  still  his  sister  was  missing.  he  tried  not  to  hold  that  against  jin.  it  wasn’t  his  fault,  nor  was  it  his  duty  to  find  his  sister.  he  knew  that  man  tried  everything  he  could.  maybe  he  still  was,  but    —  he  just  didn’t  know  anymore.  “  fair  point,  ”  he  laughed  bitterly.  

“  i’ve  had  a  burger  and  some  fries  when  i  got  back  to  the  states,  like,  ”  jitae  pushed  his  sleeve  up,  checking  the  time  on  his  watch.  “  twelve  hours  ago,  roughly.  ”  maybe  more.  he  honestly  did  not  deserve  as  a  friend.  “  it’s  fine,  ”  he  waved  off.  “  i’ll  grab  something  later  on  my  way  to  the  office.  ”  maybe,  if  he  remembers.

“  i’ll  have  to  leave  that  to  you.  i’m  afraid  i’ve,  yet  again,  angered  them,  ”  he  sighed.  it  was  starting  to  become  a  reoccurring  theme  to  have  people  either  mad,  or  disappointed  in  him.  he  just  couldn’t  understand  why  they  couldn’t  just  leave  him  alone?  why  they  couldn’t  just  support  him?  they  weren’t  as  obsessed  with  finding  seugli  as  he  was?  he  knew  he  was  being  irrational.  “  they  want  me  to  move  back  to  korea.  “

His reaction was absolutely over the top, yet there was something amusing about his expression, too. Nora’s gaze lingered, and eventually, a chuckle fell from her lips. “Tough luck– welcome to the most wonderful time of the year.” Nora announced matter-of-factly, as Christmas had, sort of, lost its magic for her a long time ago. She couldn’t be sure if she’d grown out of it (as any adult was supposed to) or if she’d become generally more jaded with time, thanks to her affiliations & her joy-sucking part-time job. “… A fancy,“ she breathed out, not finishing her thought and shaking her head instead. ”They’re for my husband,“ it felt wrong, and Nora acknowledged this only after the words had escaped her, to call Ben her husband. Technically, he wasn’t– death had done them part. ”I hear those parties weren’t anything special,“ she dismissed it easily, scrunching up her nose. ”Besides, there will be time to make up for not attending, with the festive season upon us.“ A beat as she lowered herself next to him, fingers curling around her cup. Landing back in New York, ”Where from?“ she asked and the desperate, why oh why did you have to come back here died on her lips. No need to reveal her bitterness to complete strangers just yet.

x.

“  tough  luck  indeed,  ”  he  groaned.  wonderful  time,  his  ass.  the  holidays  were  such  a  pain,  both  with  work  and  family.  though,  one  of  those  were  a  recent  development,  but  that's  beside  the  point.  

there  was  something  with  how  she  responded,  that  made  him  pause  and  consider  her.  there  was  a  story,  one  he  definitely  wasn’t  going  to  inquire  about.  maybe  ―probably.  curiosity  was  a  dangerous  thing,  and  jitae,  for  the  most  part,  was  a  curious  man.  for  now,  he’ll  respect  the  woman’s  privacy.

“  thank  the  heavens,  then,  ”  he  deadpanned.  “  i  had  surely  thought  i  had  missed  something  grand.  glad  i  was  mistaken.  speaking  of  the  up  and  coming  events;  holiday?  i  plan  to  miss  those  parities  as  well.  i’m  a  bit  of  a  scrooge,  i’m  afraid.  ”    he  paused  briefly,  before  continuing.  “  news  years  on  the  other  hand,  a  different  story.  ”

“  korea,  my  parents  needed  help  looking  at  property  since  they  are  thinking  of  moving  back.  ”  while  the  trip  itself  was  fine,  his  parents  on  the  other  hand.  they  had  spent  the  entire  trip  trying  to  convince  him  to  move  back  as  well.  he  loved  them  dearly,  even  understood  their  reasons.  yet,  he  could,  would  not,  join  them.  maybe  after  he  solved  the  mystery  of  his  sister’s  disappearance.  he  had  promised  them  that,  which,  unfortunately  mad  things  worse.  “  they  want  me  to  go  with  them.  ”

—

“Ooh.” Tima sucked in a breath, grimacing at the explanation he offered. “Sorry. Sounds like that sucks. If you’d rather, I can let you nap. Or help you find a place to crash. What brings you here, anyway?” She gestured around them, just curious more than anything. “If you don’t think coffee’ll help. Seems counterintuitive. I’d be in bed if I were you.” At the offer, she laughed, shaking her head. “God. As much as I would like to do that - I need to pay my bills. My parents won’t lend me anymore money this year.” Settling in her chair, Tima made herself comfortable even if she should be on the move. “Where’d you fly in from? If you don’t mind me asking.”

x.

“  i’d  like  to  say  i’m  used  to  it,  but  i’m  really  not,  ”  it  would  be  wonderful  if  he  was.  actually,  it  would  be  better  if  he  never  had  to  sleep  at  all,  like  that  kid  in  the  book,  the  boy  who  couldn’t  sleep  and  never  had  to,  “  the  lack  of  sleep,  i  mean.  the  jetlag  is  a  rare  occurrence.”  or  it  was.  with  how  things  were  going,  it  would  seem  he’d  be  flying  through  time  zones  more  often.  family.

“  you  know,  that’s  a  fair  point,  and  i  don’t  really  have  answer.  ”  at  least  not  one  that  made  any  sense.  him  saying,  he  walked  around  the  city  of  new  york  till  he  got  too  tired  to  walk,  didn’t  seem  like  a  very  good  enough  excuse.  “  that  is  also  a  fair  point,  but  that  is  also  why  sick  time  exists.  for  the  most  part.  ”  he’s  not  going  to  lie  and  say  he  has  never  called  out  of  work  for  the  sake  of  calling  out.  

“  korea,  my  parents  are  thinking  of  moving  back.  ”  and  he  couldn’t  exactly  blame  them.  he  understood  where  they  were  coming  from,  he  understood  why.  while  he  would  like  to  join  them,  he  couldn’t.  he  needed  to  find  his  sister,  or  at  least  what  happened  to  her.  “  i  was  born  there  actually.  “

“Mmhm, it’s the last chance to grab them, before all those pesky Christmas flavors take over,” she jested back, except her voice didn’t sound as heavy. Despite the fact they had a whole other holiday and its traditions to go through before Christmas, Nora could swear she spotted some people putting up Christmas decorations just this morning. “I would,” and her stomach agreed, growling for a bunch of other reasons. “… In return, you have to let me sit with you. I’m waiting to hear from my florist– I ordered a fairly large bouquet, it’ll take them a while to put it together.” It was All Saints’ Day, and she couldn’t postpone going to the cemetery any longer. Thus, her voicing her thoughts, if left alone with them, they’d spiral– thinking about the deceased, about what she’d tell him, how she’d explain her absence. “Tough night? Where did you lose your costume?”

x.

“  noooo,  ”  he  whined  dramatically,  his  face  pulling  into  that  of  disgust  with  thought  of  the  christmas  flavours  they  were  soon  to  be  plagued  with.  there  was  only  one  exception,  gingerbread.  that’s  it.  

“  an  easy  enough  exchange,  how  could  i  not  accept.  ”  specially  when  food  was  on  the  line,  free  at  that.  it  was  a  weakness  of  his.  feed  him,  and  he’ll  do  whatever,  mostly.  there  were  exceptions,  of  course,  and  some  foods  he  didn’t  enjoy.  hence  his  disgust  at  the  christmas  flavours  mentioned  before.  “  what  are  the  flowers  for,  hm?  throwing  a  fancy  party?  “ “  you  could  say  that.  ”  jitae  looked  down  at  himself.  he  was  still  in  the  clothes  he  wore  last  night,  the  same  ones  he  wore  on  the  plane  ride  back  to  the  states.  “  technically,  i’m  still  wearing  it.  if  you  are  referring  to  the  many  parties  that  were  apparently  being  thrown,  i’m  afraid  i  didn’t  attend.  don’t  think  me  as  some  dirty  fiend,  i  just  didn’t  have  time  to  change  clothes  since  landing  back  in  new  york.  ”

—

“Hangover?” Tima couldn’t help asking - assuming. She didn’t know him well, but recognized him from a ‘family’ function or two, and so she considered that enough to invite herself to sit beside him. “Me too. I have to be at work in twenty minutes and I’d rather just…. die right here.” She sighs, dramatic, before she turns her attention properly back to Jitae. “Should I buy you another coffee? I hear fraps are good for hangovers.”

x.

jitae  cracked  his  eyes  open  just  enough  to  peak  up  at  the  person  who  approached  him.  he  recognized  the  face,  if  only  slightly;  she  was  brotherhood.  “  if  only,  ”  he  mumbled,  rubbing  his  face  as  he  stand  up.  “  i’d  prefer  being  hungover  than  to  suffer  with  insomnia  sprinkled  with  some  jetlag,  any  day.  ”  a  hangover  was  an  easy  fix.  all  you  really  had  to  do  was  drink  your  bodyweight  in  water,  and  gorge  on  every  greasy  food  you  can  get  your  hands  on.  

“  i’ll  decline  the  offer,  i  doubt  coffee,  iced  or  not,  will  do  much  for  me  at  this  point.  thank  you,  though.  ”  truth  be  told,  coffee  did  little  to  nothing  for  him,  other  than  making  his  bones  vibrate.  “  y’know,  could  always  call  into  work.  then  we  can  sit  here  and  be  miserable  together.  ”  

x

   People slumped over coffee tables in busy shops weren’t an unusual event; people fully camped out, moved into corners of a Starbucks, were a sight that rarely roused anything in Laith. But rarely, was the person he observed, coffee and pastry in hand, a friend of his - particularly not one, he usually considered to have it together. Mostly, anyway. “Would this be considered a meet cute for us? You sleeping in a coffee shop, me coming over with food in hand? Which is for me, by the way, but I’m willing to share.” Laith nudges Jitae on the shoulder to rouse him, before making himself in the opposite chair, spreading his new purchases across the table. “Party too much on Halloween? And I didn’t even see you, man - though I’m assuming you went as a sunflower, or a Wes Anderson character. You’re lucky my hands were full or I would have taken a photo of you to have framed in your office.”

x.

he  could  feel  himself  starting  to  slip  from  reality.  while  it  wasn’t  the  most  ideal  place  to  nap,  the  low  buzz  of  chatter  of  those  around  him  began  lulling  him  to  sleep.  and  then,  he  was  suddenly  jolted  awake  with  a  light  nudge.

“  a  meet  —  what?  ”  his  speech  was  slurred,  his  mind  in  a  daze  as  it  tried  to  catch  up.  rubbing  the  sleep  from  his  eyes,  his  vision  focus  on  the  man,  now  seated  in  front  of  him.

“  neither,  “  he  yawned.  “  i  didn’t  go  to  any  of  the  apparent  parties  being  thrown.  in  fact,  i  wasn’t  even  here,  in  new  york,  till  way  late  at  night.  ”  by  then  most  parties  were  already  fizzing  out.  mostly,  anyway.    he  purposely  left  out  the  part  that  he  had  ventured  out  during  the  night  to  get  fast  food,  and  ran  into  a  drunken  friend  outside  one  of  said  parties.  it  wasn’t  important.  “  you  wouldn’t  dare  be  so  cruel,  ”  he  challenged.  the  man  would,  jitae  was  sure  of  it.  it  was  part  of  their  friendship,  after  all,  to  mess  with  one  another  as  such.  “  not  to  your  biggest,  bestest,  and  most  coolest  friend.  ”

-

coffee. he didn’t know when he’d started relying on the magic liquid so much, but it was nearly impossible to see him without one these days. today was no exception but instead of his usual cafe, he took a detour to a different one several blocks away from his work. it wasn’t about the coffee today, really - no, it was about tracking down a friend who seemed to be missing since the morning, and according to a little birdie, he was last seen here. 

he let out a small sigh as he spotted jitae at the back of the cafe, eyes closed and head on his arms. under normal circumstances, he might have thought to scare him awake, but his heart only felt heavy at the sight. so instead, he placed a hand on jitae’s shoulder, and gave it a light squeeze. 

“hey,” jin called out, “if you needed a place to sleep, you could’ve just stopped by the office, you know.” 

x.

“  i  know,  ”  he  mumbled,  not  bothering  to  lift  his  head  off  the  table,  nor  open  his  eyes.  he  knew  who  it  was  by  the  sound  of  the  voice.  it  belonged  to  his  one  and  only  friend,  yoo  jin.  “  i  figured  my  assigned  fbi  agent  would  want  some  coffee.  it  was  about  time  for  our  weekly  checkup,    decided  to  take  a  little  nap  while  i  waited.  ”

despite  coming  from  two  vastly  different  sums  of  money,  and  a  small  bit  of  distance  between  them,  the  two  have  always  been  close.  their  families  as  well.  he  could  hardly  remember  when,  or  how  the  two  met.  it  felt  like  jin  had  always  been  there.  he  was  grateful  for  that.

regrettable,  jitae  has  been  a  terrible  friend  as  of  recently.  it  wasn’t  intentional,  and  jin  definitely  didn’t  deserve  it,  none  of  his  friends  did.  it  started  six  years  ago,  when  his  sister  went  missing,  that  he  started  pushing  people  out  of  his  life.  he  had  become  so  obsessed  with  finding  his  sister,  he  was  completely  unaware  of  what  he  was  doing,  and  slowly  his  number  of  friends  dwindled  down  to  just  one.

jin.

jitae  pushed  himself  to  sit  up,  rubbing  the  sleep  from  his  eyes.  “  i  know  i  ask  this  every  time,  but  i’m  still  confused  on  how  you  find  me.  ”  lazily,  he  looked  up  at  his  childhood  friend.  “  i’m  not  entirely  convinced  you  didn’t  put  a  tracking  device  in  me    —  mom  says  hi,  by  the  way.”

-

“Hooray,” Hyunwoo sighed out, lifting a limp fist in the air. “Saving little ol’ me… what did I do to deserve such an honor?” Snorting, Hyunwoo lifted his head again. God, seeing the guy again was both like a breath of fresh air and getting punched in the face again.

“Just leave me here.” He waved his hand away, but still was glad for the company. He found himself scooting over so that the man would be fully away from the vomit bush. While he wasn’t really wanting to sleep here for the night, it was much better than having to get up and actually walk. But then again… having New York’s… finest sleeping in the streets with a bruised face would not bode well for the precinct. His higher-ups would have his head on a platter.

Looking over at the man, Hyunwoo squinted. When had the man had the time to go and get a whole ass burger? Blindly, Hyunwoo thought that time must’ve been slipping away from him or something. Shaking his head and snorting a little to himself, Hyunwoo shrugged.

“Why would I miss you?” He teased lightheartedly. Infallible Jitae with his jokes and his general demeanor was something of a godsend. He didn’t know how Jitae did it, really. “Okay, so maybe I did. Where would I be without my knight in shining pants suit?”

At the mention his his eye, and the man who had caused it, Hyunwoo found himself sighing again. “He’ll be fine. A broken nose and a bruised rib won’t kill him…” he paused. “At least I’m sure it won’t.”

x.

“  wondering  that  myself,  at  this  point,  ”  he  grumbled,  faking  a  look  of  hurt.  “  you  could  stand  be  a  little  more  grateful.  could’ve  kept  on  walking  ,  and  left  you  here  to  freeze.  ”  he  regrets  not  taking  a  picture  of  the  situation  when  he  had  the  chance.  

“  it’s  very  tempting.  so,  i  just  might,  ”  he  drawled,  acting  as  if  he  were  pondering  over  it.  “  though,  having  you  owe  me  a  favour  is  even  more  tempting.”  as  much  as  it  was  against  the  lawyer,  as  he  would  know,  he  could  make  do  with  having  an  officer  of  the  law  owe  him.  despite,  the  said  cop  already  having  ties  with  a  notorious  gang,  but  that  wasn’t  the  point  right  now.    

“  fair,  but  ouch.  ”  it  was  a  joke,  yet  he  couldn’t  help  think  it  held  some  truth.  not  necessarily  with  hyunwoo,  but  with  everyone.  jitae  didn’t  have  many  he  could  call  a  friend,  if  he  had  any  at  all  in  this  big  city.  well,  he  did  have  one.  though,  regrettably,  jitae  must  admits  he  hasn’t  exactly  treated  them  well.  “  oh,  the  possibilities  are  endless.  none  that  matter  now  that  your  knight  is  here.  ”

“  broken  nose  and  a  bruised  rib,  ”  he  repeated,  as  his  continued  to  snack  on  his  fries.  “  could  try  to  sue  you.  not  to  worry,  i  know  a  pretty  damn  good  lawyer  if  that  does  happen.  ”  

There wasn’t much difference between the spookiest night of the year and the morning after– zombie-like creatures roaming around on Halloween and zombie-like creatures with smudged make-up on their walk of shame the following morning. Nora, on the other hand, looked a bit more alive, even if she hadn’t gotten much sleep the previous night either. First and foremost, the party she attended at the Cancún had been a success– meaning: no incidents, no casualties. Si, definitely a success. 

Nora’d picked up her order– a cupcake and a cup of coffee, a voice in her head reminding her how important of a meal breakfast was, but she did so knowing she wouldn’t devour it anytime soon, due to the fluttering in her stomach– and the young man nearly passed out on the table had her concerned, was he sick? Nora had the first aid procedures memorized in her head, but first, she had to check if he was conscious. Having approached him carefully, the doctor gave his cheek a poke.“You alright, joven? You might want to wake up before all the pumpkin-cinnamon cupcakes disappear,” she jested– just to get a response, and check what kind of person she was dealing with here.  

x.

was  this  it?  was  he  finally  going  to  get  some  sleep?  he  could  feel  himself  starting  to slip  from  reality  and  suddenly  —  he  was  back.  his  head  shooting  up  from  the  table,  he looked  around  the  coffee  shop  in  a  daze,  his  hair  sticking  up  in  all  directions  on  one side.  damn,  he  was  so  close.  

“  no,  not  the  pum’kin-innamon  cup’akes,  ”  he  drawled,  his  mind  was  racing  to  catch  up. “  whatever  should  i  do,  if  they  sell  out.  ”  nothing,  or  cry.  though,  he’d  be  crying  for  an entirely  different  reason.  he  just  wanted  sleep.  that’s  it,  nothing  else.  there  had  to  be bags,  on  bag,  on  bags  under  his  eyes.  “  don’t  suppose  you’d  give  me  yours?  ”

exhausted,  drained  of  one’s  physical  or  mental  resources;  very  tired.  and  a  complete  understatement  of  how  he  felt.  a  fourteen  hour  flight  across  multiple  time  zones,  he  was  beyond  jetlagged.  not  to  mention  being  kept  up  all  night  due  to  the  halloween  festivities  going  on  around  him.  yet  despite  how  tired  he  felt,  sleep  eluded  him.  it  was  anyone’s  guess  how  he  was  still  up,  and  functioning.  he  chalk  it  up  to  being  used  to  it.  sleep  never  came  easy  for  him,  usually  running  on  just  a  few  hours  of  sleep,  if  that,  and  a  surplus  amount  of  coffee.  there  were  some  nights  he  didn’t  sleep  at  all.  those  nights  were  either  spent  blowing  up  his  friends’  phone,  if  he  had  to  suffer  so  did  they,  or  reading  old  flies  of  a  seemingly  forgotten  missing  person  case.  

he  just  wanted  to  sleep  for  once.  not  just  a  quick  nap  his  body  allowed  him,  but  actual  sleep.  though,  resting  his  head  on  a  wooden  table  in  a  random  coffee  shop  was  probably  not  the  best  place  to  attempt  such  things.

-

That familiar voice made Hyunwoo lift his head, despite the fact that it felt like moving even the tiniest amount would cause him to pass out. Upon seeing the man’s face, Hyunwoo can’t help but roll his eyes despite the surprise he he felt.

“My hero,” he deadpans, shaking his head and letting his head fall back between his shoulders, too tired to even think about looking up for more than a few seconds at a time. “I’m surprised your heart even works period,” he joked, letting out a throaty little laugh.

“Look like shit, feel like shit.” He sighed, lifting his head again. The offer makes Hyunwoo smile, but unfortunately, he is in no place to get up. He might just pay rent to live in this bush at this point, seeing as though he’d already made himself plenty comfortable on it anyways. “I just need a moment,” he grumbles, rubbing at his eye and then hissing when he realizes he went to rub at the eye with a giant bruise covering it.

“It’s been a while.” Hyunwoo said, for lack of anything better to say.

x.

“  many  probably  share  that  same  thought.  but  alas,  it  still  beats.  ”  he  mirrored  the  hyunwoo’s  deadpan  tone  back  at  him.  “  how  lucky  for  you.  ”  jitae  studied  the  man,  aside  from  the  obvious  drunkenness  and  an  already  bruised  eye,  there  was  no  cause  for  any  real  concern.  at  least,  none  he  could  see  on  the  surface.

“  i’ll  give  you  five  minutes.”  with  an  exaggerated  sigh,  he  took  a  seat  next  to  the  man.  his  face  twisted  with  disgust  as  he  carefully  avoided  the  vomit.    

“  if  you  fall  asleep  and  i’ll  leave  you  here.  ”  it  was  an  empty  threat.  as  previously  stated,  he  wasn’t  completely  heartless.  should  it  happen  though,  jitae  would  be  at  a  loss.  he  certainly  didn’t  know  where  the  man  lived.  he  could  check  the  man’s  wallet  for  an  address,  if  he  had  it  on  him.  did  the  costume  have  pockets?  a  hotel  room  was  an  option,  though  he  rather  not  spend  the  spend.  

he’ll  figure  something  out.  for  now,  he  was  starving  and  if  he  was  going  to  be  here  for  a  while  he  might  as  well  start  eating.  it  was  nothing  gourmet,  just  some  fries  and  a  burger.  

“  aw,  had  you  missed  me?  ”  he  cooed,  stuffing  a  fry  in  his  mouth.  he  took  another  out,  waving  it  near  the  other’s  face  for  him  to  take.  “  had  to  attend  to  some  family  matters  back  home.  i’d  ask  how  you’ve  been,  but  well,  ”  he  gestured  to  his  eye.  “  i  assume  the  other  guy  looks  worse.  ”