the reformer

.

     And that’s how it was supposed to be. Him having no idea what happened with that case, Ava walking away freely. Rinse and repeat. IF they playedtheir cards right, they’d be able to keep this string of public maimings going without raising any suspicions… All they needed was to be questioned by different police officers. Everyone knew their records were far from updated, and by the time they caught up to her she’d be well on her way to next, bigger things. They could very well dream.

     “One would think yoour biggest downfall was–” should they say it? Was it going too far, drawing too much attention to themselves? “–being a police officer.” No, there wasn’t such a thing as too much attention.They offered a smile, to indicate they were joking – even though they absolutely weren’t. She’d never cared too much about the police as an institution, they were more focused on making them look like absolute morons than destroying them at all.

     “Who’s Emily,” she scoffed. What an uncultured swine. The people they had to deal with… Truly, why did they even bother anymore? Rarely anyone matched their wit, not to mention their references. “She’s an American in Paris. Wears a beret and everything.” Obviously. Can’t believe I’m explaining this show to a maid with cat ears. “You could learn a lot from her. She’s very…” fashionable wasn’t the right word whatsoever. “… Confident.”

-

Hyunwoo, despite coming off of being drunk and having gotten into a fight mere hours ago, couldn't help but squint at the statement. He lifted his head, eyeing the other with a confused sort of look. What the hell was that supposed to mean? The smile almost threw him off, but it felt almost too easy. And that statement was loaded enough that he felt he really couldn't just let it slide. Was he playing into their hands? He really couldn't tell, but it did stump him nonetheless. "Huh?" He questioned, because really, what else could he say? They were right, and Hyunwoo was a part of a very flawed, very horrible sort of institution, but honestly, what the fuck?

The sudden change in conversation topics had Hyunwoo gaping just a little. It really felt like playing a game of chess, one that he was losing horribly at. It wasn't at all helped by his current situation either.

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.  ”        

-

"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."

.

     Maybe their proudest accomplishment, being recognized as you, from the police station. In public, it might not play so well, but tonight was the night of witches and all that was evil, and fuck if they didn’t belong in that category themselves. They still tried to hide their rather proud grin – being remembered was really all they could hope for, and from a policeman no less? They would have to run and tell Lee later. “The innocent witness, yes,” she stated, putting on a louder tone as if anyone gave two shits about what they were talking about. It was an act, everything always was, but this would be a lot more entertaining given their starkingly contrasting outfits.

     His confession didn’t seem much of one, and still Ava looked him up and down slowly, taking in every inch of him she could into his mind. Truthfully, they would probably forget all about it in the next hour, but it was all part of the game. Making someone’s skin crawl, having them tremble under their stare… That was were real power lay, and they wanted all of it. “Interesting,” was all they offered in response once their eyes finally landed on Hyun’s once more.

     His question did not come as a surprise – of course a law officer wouldn’t be acquainted with the details of popular culture – but still they posed an offended expression on their face. Pretending was so much more fun than the truth. “I’m Emily, of course. Here–” they held up their index finger and dug into the small purse to dig out a plastic bag with the tip of the baguette – the only bit that was left after they’d shared a piece with almost everyone who’d crossed their way at the Cancún. “–have this. It’s– you know, she’s in France. And the bar wouldn’t let me bring in a bottle of wine so…” a defeated shrug as they hand over the slice of bread.

-

Their smile would cause Hyunwoo's internal sirens to go off, but seeing as though he wasn't in a state to stand up, he couldn't really find it in himself to even think about what that look implied. Instead, he just shrugged, shaking his head ever so slightly. In lieu of an answer to the other's statement, he simply huffed. He still had no idea what the hell had happened with that case. It had felt like everything about it was going wrong, and then one day: poof.

The dubious glance thrown his way makes Hyunwoo sigh. He felt as though he would be doing that a lot tonight: sighing, that was. "I thought it was both cute and funny. It might have been for a bet, and I may have lost, but in the end..." he let out another sigh, "my greatest downfall was a maid costume."

Thinking about the situation that had played out just prior to him making a home in the bush made him shudder. Both in anger and embarrassment. Thinking back on that situation could come another time. Right now, all he could think about was how shitty he felt.

Looking up, Hyunwoo is surprised to be met with the sight of a loaf of bread. Maybe it was due to the fact that he was drunk, or the fact that he didn't consume very much media at all, but he stared, now more confused than ever.

it  was  a  poor  choice  to  fly  back  to  NYC  on  halloween;  or  perhaps  he  was  just  bad  at  math  and  couldn’t  count  back  thirteen  hours  to  realize  he  would  be  landing  in  pure  chaos.    whatever  the  reason,  if  it  wasn’t  for  the  lack  of  food  in  his  apartment,  and  being  completely  famished,  he  would  have  just  stayed  in.  

should’ve  just  ordered  in.

that  would’ve  been  the  smart  thing  to  do.  another  poor  decision  on  his  part.  now  he  was  having  to  deal  with  the  consequences  as  he  walked  through  the  city  filled  with  drunken  idiots  being  unnecessarily  loud  with  a  bag  of  take-out.  

and  would  you  look  at  that,  he  stumbled  upon  one  he  knew.  if  only  a  little.  

“  and  here  i  was  concerned  for  my  friend’s  well-being,  only  to  be  told  to  fuck  off.  sad,  my  heart  is  broken  beyond  repair.  i  shall  never  recover  from  this.  ”  he  faked  a  hurt  expression,  placing  his  free  hand  over  his  heart  for  dramatic  effect.  

“  you  look  like  shit,  ”  he  commented,  traded  the  tease  tone  for  a  more  serious  one.  dare  he  say,  he  was  truly  concerned.  “  should  i  call  you  a  taxi?  ”  

-

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.

Getting into a fight was one thing.

Wearing a maid costume and cat ears was another.

But getting into a fight while wearing a maid costume and cat ears?

Hyunwoo had thought that getting himself roped in into gang politics was him hitting the lowest of the low. But this? This somehow managed to surpass even that horrible event in his life.

He had found his home for the night near a bush some asshole had decidedly thrown up on, woefully licking at his wounds much like, yes, a cat.

God, what a nightmare.

He couldn't remember exactly what had happened. One minute, he was minding his own business, trying his hardest to make idle small talk with people he'd never met, and the next, he was throwing punches at some guy at the bar that had gotten a little too handsy with him. It was only after the fight that he'd been told that the guy was a member of one of the other gangs, and he'd been promptly kicked out for the night.

Stupid, wasn't it, that this was the way the night was going? He could go home, patch himself up and pretend like nothing had happened, but at the same time, the bush was comforting in its own, weird little way, and he'd be damned if he had to get up and move.

Blinking through his bleary, blurry vision, he could barely make out a pair of shoes stopped in front of him. Hyunwoo did not want to be seen nor interacted with in such a troubling time. Hell, some drunk idiot had given him a five dollar bill earlier, probably thinking he was either a dancer down on his luck, or a very festive homeless man.

"Listen, I don't want your money. I have a place to stay and I'm not taking my clothes off for you. So very kindly, might I ask that you please, for the love of god, fuck off. Kindly, of course."

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐄 𝐇𝐘𝐔𝐍𝐖𝐎𝐎 as 𝐀 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐁𝐎𝐘 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐃 !! // halloween 2021 a freaking catboy... and a maid.... 

sebinn: 🟊🟊🟊🟊 real chance of surviving

girlboss reigns supreme.

hoseok: 🟊 super dead

it's okay <3 all the sexy ones die first <3

eunji @antiscicns from hyunwoo <33

🟊🟊🟊🟊🟊 personally, i'd be worried for the killer/zombies/ghost

"knowing her, she'd [redacted] whoever's in her way. i wouldn't be surprised if she [redacted] [redacted] [redacted] in a burning helicopter falling from the sky. she'd [redacted] and there would be [redacted] everywhere--" redacted, for the safety for everyone involved in this hypothetical situation, of course.

Turmoil was in store once this encounter ended. They knew that deep down, but still chose to cram it as far away as possible. That would be an issue for future them to sort out. For now, they just had to hold themselves together to actually get through a conversation. 

Eunji gave a curt nod in response, but made no move form the end of the aisle. “You should get the Twisted Lime if you haven’t tried it yet.” Dark eyes skirt to the Doritos in topic before adverting to the employee that came near. Carefully, they sidestepped the spilled slushie to get out of the way. Nothing was mopped up just yet, but a caution sign was put down in the meantime. 

Closer now, they maintained a considerable amount of distance between Hyunwoo and them. “So, what do you want to ask?”

Hyunwoo felt like he was about to vibrate right out of his own skin. This was actually happening. She wasn’t some hallucination--she was real. The bags under her eyes, the tiredness in them, it was all... real. 

Would he cry? He could feel something prickling in the back of his eyes but he tried his best to stuff that feeling away. The tears could come later, when he could actually sit down and actually process all that was going on. 

He barely noticed the store employee tidying after them, still staring at Eunji with barely-contained shock. If he were a lesser man, he would have passed out right then and there. 

“Huh?” He was shaken out of his thoughts. How was she so cool? He felt like he was another short breath away from kicking the bucket and Eunji was giving him snack recommendations? God, she’d really grown. “I don’t like lime.” Despite his admission, he reached for the bag she’d referred to anyways.