"Alexander-"

"I told you to stop calling me that, it's not Alexander. My real name is Kim Sehyoon. Detective, agent, whatever, but not Alexander. I'm sick of that name now."

Yunho puts up a hand, silencing them all. He has sent Byul and Hwayoung to the dorm, with him being invited to the 'meeting' ATEEZ are currently having with this bunch of newcomers that include Alexander, which, according to him, is not his real name. So is every action related to him, because apparently 'Alexander' was a cover. An undercover mission that went on for years.

"Fill me in again because apparently, my brain is too slow to process what you just revealed to us."

Sehyoon nods before patiently clasping his hands and sweeping his vision across the whole expanse of the cafe then to the people he came with. He stops as he looks at ATEEZ, composing himself before he starts to explain again.

"I'm a part of the special team assembled to infiltrate into criminal underworlds and conduct undercover missions that can last for years. Infiltrating into KTC is only one of the tasks that we were given with. KTC is one of the... let's say... beads in a worldwide chain of illegal recruitment of test subjects. We are considered to be a part of the authorities, but our existence is kept in the low. For us, this particular unit is focused on KTC, in which, all of you have managed to destroy in one night."

"So Alexander was a secret identity for you to be recruited into KTC?" San scratches his cheek, still not believing that this person whom they thought had betrayed them during the initial assembly of ATEEZ is a secret agent for a special team.

"Yes. Our team is called A.C.E, and my members here are all included for the investigation on KTC. This operation has started around the same time they started the research into the drug, and we-" he gestures to the other four people that came together with him, "-were absorbed into the unit as young kids, because they needed someone who's eligible to be recruited into KTC. A few has been sent before me to go undercover, but we... lost some of them due to the drug, some were missing in action while some killed. None has managed to properly infiltrate the centre to get close to the Bifidensis board members."

"Except you," Jongho offers. "You came into the training centre as Alexander, starting off just like any of us. A normal trainee, but you got the chance to get closer to the Bifidensis board members and you took it. That was why you abandoned ATEEZ to grab the chance; this was your task. To get close to the board members."

Sehyoon nods slowly, agreeing to it. "When I said I never meant to break the trust all of you had in me, I meant it. It was part of the plan because this, for years, was the first time any of us in the team had managed to become a step closer to them. I provided intel to the rest of A.C.E, and we were slowly building up a plan to take down KTC. Well, that is," he shrugs, "until all of you decided to waltz in, took down the building and killed everyone involved."

"Sorry," Seonghwa grimaces. "Guess all of our plans were woven together, huh?"

"So... we basically trashed your whole plan and the reason of existence of A.C.E?" Wooyoung asks. "Whoops."

Sehyoon snorts but he quickly brings back his face to an official-like state. "What we're saying is, thank you for your service and the information you've managed to dig in the data bank. That's a headache taken care of, but as you may know this is not something that has vanished off the face of earth just like that. It's a deep-rooted system, even deeper than what we have known in KTC. This case is about to be opened to a worldwide scale, and our team is to direct our focus to the other 'beads' in this chain."

"All those jobs we did during our stint as ATEEZ..." Hongjoong trails off.

"Are off-the-record. We considered them as your obligation for your tie towards the Bifidensis. You can start anew as normal people, and we won't let your past as ATEEZ come back for you. You can," he smiles, "start your lives again with your new family."

He particularly focuses on Seonghwa and Yunho, before nodding to the rest.

"Although you," he gestures towards Seonghwa, "tried to conceal the uncertain relationship you had with Akira, there were eyes watching. They knew you were in a relationship but I stopped them from advancing towards you, or do anything to harm your loved ones. There's a reason why I was the one who sent to do a clean-up after you 'killed' Han Byul. I requested to come, because I know that all of you are too nice to kill someone as innocent as her. In which, I found out that she used to be Lee Eunbi. That's... a turn of events that I never expected to see."

They stare down at their clasped hands, the burden being lifted off making them feel lighter, but they know that there's a hole left by what the Bifidensis did to them that can never be repaired. They have to live with the knowledge that their hands did in fact, kill.

"I understand," Sehyoon utters. "It's not something easy to digest for you and reverting to a normal life might take a long time. That's why we have a team to help you integrate back into life, in case you need any. Your documents for the continuation of your lives will be provided by us, and everything will be taken care of. You'll only be close-knit friends who happened to have the opportunity to run a cafe together."

They keep on listening to his string of words, too much to fathom.

He taps a palm on the table, "You're free from the contracts; you can do whatever you want as long as," he takes a look at them one by one, "it doesn't break the law. Oh, and I forgot to tell you this that..." he takes out his phone and reads off the details on the screen, "...Remy and Danbi? They'll be given their proper identification back, too. Go and live your lives as normal people- open up another shop, take up a job, continue your studies and whatnot. And," he chortles, "I believe that you have a lot of money to start off with. The screen of the ATM machine can't even fit in the numbers you have. They're all yours."

Sehyoon returns his gaze to Hongjoong, in which the former shrugs. "Looks like your uncle left you a lot of money and properties too. You've inherited all of it since he has no descendants. That's all I have to say, and... welcome back to society. As far as anyone is concerned, we have had no contact and all 8 of you run this cafe ever since you managed to collect money for the capital to start up this business." He shrugs, "About your headquarters, you can leave it and make it a hangout place or something. Such a shame to watch it go, since I heard you have an indoor pool, a full-equipped gym... that's a lot. I might even come here sometime to hang out," he jokes.

A.C.E stands up, looking to exit the cafe when everything is done being tied up, no leaking ends to attend to anymore.

Sehyoon is the last to leave the cafe, rocking on the balls on his feet when the rest of A.C.E are waiting outside for him. He takes one last look at them before saying, "Sorry I betrayed the trust you had when I left the team. And sorry because of whatever I did or said as Alexander."

"Guess we're equal now?" Mingi asks. "And believe me when I say, I can scream like that, even at a higher pitch. One of my many talents."

"I sure do believe that," he pauses, then sucks in a sharp breath, "you know, talking about talents... All of yours would be a pity to watch them go to waste, so-" he takes out a card and gives them his number, "-if you'd ever think of doing more of this stuff but legally, don't hesitate and call me. We could use more brains and brawn in the team."

Hongjoong takes the card, seeing the card only bearing the title 'A.C.E', his name and number. No positions or addresses whatsoever.

"Well, we do work in secret so people have never really heard of us and we can't brag about it, but show this to the police headquarters in Utopia and they'll bring you down straight to our secret office. Not as cool as your headquarters but we have some advanced technology too. We'll be more than glad to accept you on our team, considering how you're the cream of the crop. The best of the best and we wouldn't want to miss that. Ah, I don't know when it's going to happen but I assume you're getting married to your longtime girlfriend?"

All heads turn to Seonghwa and with a proud smile, he nods. "Expect a wedding invitation for A.C.E, and I hope that you'll be able to come."

"Wait for mine too," Yunho pipes up. "I proposed to her, by the way," he addresses the rest of ATEEZ, "and she said yes."

"Really?" Wooyoung beams before he puts a dramatic finger to his eyebrow. "I knew it."

"You're the first person to say that she'd reject my proposal."

"When did I say that?" he frowns. "Heck I did not."

Sehyoon gives off a genuine laugh at their banter before waving to them. "I'll be leaving now. I hope that you'll have a better life ahead and it's shitty, I must say, for whatever KTC had done, but that's why we're looking to stop it. One bead at a time." He steps outside. "Your cafe just needs a little promotion; look at how many customers came once I promoted it a bit. Take my advice and do a little renovation, yeah?"

"That was you?" Jongho scoffs before shaking his head in disbelief. "It's no wonder we were getting more customers in a day than we had in a week."

Sehyoon shrugs. "Just a little help to boost you back into business."

"Sorry for the gum that I slapped on the back of your suit that day," San stops him before he completely disappears behind the roller shutter.

"It's fine, Alexander deserved it anyway. He was an asshole."

---

Yeosang paces uncertainly in front of Anna's shop, the first time he decides to visit her after saying goodbye to her, rehearsing what he should say to her when she decides to open the shop. It's 7 in the morning and he has been waiting for half an hour, thinking that he'll be prepared once he's actually there, but the bravery doesn't seem to build up. In fact, he's probably looking like a creep who's waiting to prey on Anna and her shop neighbours are dialling the police as he takes another step in front of the shop.

"I'm sorry? Is that what I should say?" he mutters to himself. "I'm sorry I became a jerk to you because I'm an asshole who doesn't know how to string a few sentences that don't make people cry? Nope, that's not it too. Or... hey, I came back. Sorry about that, ha ha false alarm." He sighs. "Argh, I feel so dumb. Relationships are so tricky and messy," he laments.

The sky rumbles as he grips on the enveloped wedding invitation Seonghwa and Yunho gave to him to be passed on to Anna. Both Akira and Byul are also looking to have their wedding dresses tailored by Anna, and it is his duty to send the message to her. He can't keep stalling it because the wedding date is coming up, and he needs to give the requests to the seamstress.

Whether he's ready or not, he has to face Anna.

"I don't know what to say," he wails as he thumps his head against the roller shutter. Then he stands straight, practicing on how he's going to give the wedding invitation to her and the measurements for Akira and Byul. Which character should he go for... a brooding one? A mysterious one...? The I-won't-say-anything-but-give-you-this-message-on-this-paper-coolly type? "I don't-"

"Baby, is that you?" a small voice approaches him, but he was too absorbed in his practice that he gets surprised by her sudden appearance.

"I'm fucking sorry!" he blurts.

"You, what?" Anna's face contorts before pushing him to the side. "Move, I need to open my shop."

"Wait, Anna. Listen to me," Yeosang pleads as she's furiously unlocking the roller shutter, noisily pushing it up with her small frame and struggling to let it slide upwards. "I didn't mean to- I mean, I'm sorry!"

She inhales and exhales like she's a dragon about to breathe fire all over Yeosang as the roller shutter hits the top, and she goes to remove the bar in the middle next. She swings it until it looks like she's about to hit him and he ducks, before she puts it away and unlocks the glass door. She pushes the door to step into the dark area, then stands still, back towards him. The door is left open and her shoes click on the tiled floor as she walks towards the shadows, all without saying anything to him.

He waits outside the shop, unsure on whether she'd let him go inside. The lights are switched on and he sees her moving around the shop, powering up all her machines and arranging her belongings in an old locker that creaks before she slams it shut. She rests her palm against the locker, as if absorbing energy so that she'll be able to turn to look at him.

"Why are you here?" she asks as she moves towards her sewing machine. She doesn't know what she would do for today, because she's still not getting any customers. She has spent the past week sewing up random ideas from her head, smiling in satisfaction before the smile disappears at the thought that she may never see ATEEZ as a whole again.

Until Yeosang decided to be a creep and stand in front of her shop.

She had arrived a few minutes earlier but when she saw Yeosang in front, she ducked behind a dumpster and peeked to see what he's doing, slightly hoping that he would give up and leave. She didn't want to, she felt the huge need to refuse his visit because one, she was still heartbroken from his sudden disappearance, and two, she wanted to forget about him.

But of course, is Anna Yoo ever determined in something other than her love for sewing and cats? Right, that's never.

She should have been more firm in refusing his visit, but instead she invites him in, asking in the most monotonous voice she can muster, "Why are you here? I thought you decided to go and leave for Wonderland."

"We did, but we met a miracle and came back." He approaches her at the sewing machine and she flinches, so he stops from getting too close to her. "I... uh, we wanted to give you a wedding invitation. Seonghwa and Yunho are getting married."

"To each other?" There's a genuine question mark at the end of her sentence that he chuckles.

"No, to their girlfriends. Seonghwa is getting married to Akira-"

"Ah, his girlfriend that was in the same gang as him."

He nods. "Yunho and Byul are getting married."

She looks confused at this mention, because as far as she's concerned, they've only met Byul recently.

"It's a long story but Byul... is actually Hwayoung's mother."

"Really?" Her eyes light up at this mention and it almost looks like she's about to tackle Yeosang into a hug, her excitement uncontainable. She doesn't though, as she only springs up from her seat and stands in front of him. "That's amazing."

"It is. They want you to design their dresses. They said that they trust you a lot, and they would wear anything that you would put out. Oh and um..." he looks down, "we're not working as secret couriers anymore. You've heard about the explosion on Wonderland on the news, right?"

She nods slowly.

"So things kind of happened and now we're not doing all that stuff anymore. We closed that book, and I... don't know whether your offer still stands, but I can be your model, I guess. We're looking to, uh, start over again as normal people."

She can't help but get carried away listening to his voice, and drowning herself in his eyes... "Is that a peace offering? After saying 'I'm fucking sorry' right after you decided to leave like an asshole you've always been."

"I guess that is my way of saying sorry." He presses his lips together. "I understand that if you don't want to take me in or accept it-"

"No."

"No? I see. Understood."

"Not until I finish sewing the dresses for Akira and Byul. You won't be a model before you become my assistant. I need help in sewing the dresses and you'll be perfect as one, help me to cut up the fabrics, collect the materials needed and all that. You in?"

He smiles. "Anything for you, baby."

She stops as she hears the nickname coming out of his mouth and he mentally slaps himself. Too soon.

"I better leave now," he hastily says as he slides the measurements for Akira and Byul to her. "Just, uh, call me when you decide to start." He backtracks before bolting to the door, but as soon as he's about to step out of the shop it starts raining heavily, causing him to halt at the entrance and look at the darkening sky with devastation. He didn't bring an umbrella with him, and he walked all the way from the cafe to Anna's shop. He turns around awkwardly, almost like a robot as he politely asks, "Anna, do you happen to have any umbrellas lying around in the shop?"

She firmly shakes her head. "Nope. You do remember how clumsy I am, don't you? I always brought an umbrella with me but I kept hurting myself when I opened it, so I just gave up and left it at home. I try not to get myself near umbrellas."

He purses his lips before stepping away from the entrance and weaving his fingers together. "So what do you do when it's raining heavily?"

"I usually just stay back and wait for the rain to subside. Got used to it since I'm always never rushing to anywhere."

"Right," he decides. "Then I guess I'll have to wait until the rain stops." He laughs awkwardly while scratching his head. "If you don't mind."

"I don't mind," she shrugs as she pulls out a chair for him to sit. "I can start with the designs first."

He scoots towards her workstation, takes a seat and watches as she sketches in her book, occasionally showing him what she came up with. He nods, agreeing with whatever she shows him, but he's barely paying attention to the art, but the artist herself.

He finds himself staring at her features when she's focused solely on her drawing, drawn in by the way her mouth purses and her eyes flicking under her thick glasses as she produces another stroke on the paper. He looks away when she looks up to show him the sketches, pretending that he's only been looking around the shop and not at her.

But it gets harder every time so one time she catches him staring, she mutters, "You do know that the rain has stopped like, 10 minutes ago? Why aren't you leaving?"

"Right, I should." He stands up but he's idling, not making any move towards the entrance as he looks down at her cowering over her sketchbook again.

She doesn't look like she's about to stand up to send him off, and he stays rooted on the spot. It's only after a few minutes of him standing still does she look up. "Why are you still-"

"Do you want to go out with me?" he asks in one breath before slapping a hand to his mouth.

"Go out? Now? Where?" she frowns. "But I'm busy. I need to work on the designs for the dresses. I need to somehow make them special in their own way but at the same time complementing each other. Can't have one bride outshining the other because it's both their special day."

He removes his hand from his mouth before sitting back down. She stares at him, not having a clue in the world about what he's trying to deliver. He licks his lips before saying, looking slightly embarrassed, "Going out as in... having a- um, date. Like, you know, what people do with the person they like."

"Oh."

Crap, not the response I wanted. You've played yourself, Kang Yeosang.

"Did the cold-hearted Kang Yeosang really ask me out on a date?" she asks as she puffs up her cheeks and puts down her pencil. "The Kang Yeosang?"

"I mean," he puts a hand to the back of his head, "that's how a relationship starts right? Like one person confesses to another and they... I don't know, go on dates and stuff before moving further... I have no idea what I'm saying but I hope you get my point. I think I like you, Anna Yoo."

"You think?" she scoffs. "I really don't know what I'm going to do with you."

"Okay no, I like, like you. Before this I didn't want to get involved in any relationships and I didn't know how to deal with someone's feelings towards me. You're just so... fragile and I'm scared that I'll break you because I don't know how I'll act if we ever get together. I'm always so used to reserving all the feelings I have to myself. But then you came with that carefree attitude of yours and you showed to me that there are actually people having a soul as pure as yours. Maybe since then I started thinking that... people aren't that bad after all. Maybe it's just me."

"I don't know whether I should be flattered or not with what you said," she huffs. "I guess that's the most romantic thing I can ever hear from you. But you know I'm a klutz. You'll just waste your time worrying about me every day, when you could be doing something else."

This time she stands up and moves from her workstation, towering over Yeosang. She gives a knock to his head while uttering, "This is for being so mean to me." She pushes a finger on his forehead before uttering, "And that's for making me fall for you when I know I'm not on the same level as you. You look like some otherworldly prince while I'm here looking like an ugly gremlin. And- making me fluttered with your little actions even though you probably never meant it as anything more. Those boxes of plasters, even though I finished using all of them I still keep the outer box, because you gave them to me. Even though you scowled or rolled your eyes while giving them to me, I hate that I still find that attractive." She slaps a hand to her cheek, "And this is for stupid me for always falling for you when all you did was be mean to me."

He holds her wrists, looks her in the eyes, pass her thick glasses and utters, "If this world really runs according to who's beautiful and who's not, then the world is truly fucked up. You think you're an ugly gremlin but you don't have to look a certain way to be beautiful. It's all based on how you see someone. I think you're-" he clears his throat, "-pretty cute. With your hair, glasses and plasters all over. I may not be the best at showing my feelings but it took me long to reciprocate your feelings to me. And... I'm not perfect. I make mistakes but I want to try and make it work with you. I'm scared, but I'm willing to take that risk."

Her heartbeat skyrockets until she has to break the eye contact before sniffing. She pushes her glasses up, then lands a peck on his lips before shying away and practically jumping back to her workstation. She pretends to be busy looking through the fabric when she senses Yeosang coming close to her.

"I don't know what you meant by that, because I'm pretty dumb when it comes to signals," he says as he scoots his chair nearer to her workstation.

"Or you're just playing dumb," she utters as she slams her foot down on the pedal.

"I guess I am..." he trails off as he lets his gaze wander all over her shop.

She sighs, rolls back her chair and faces Yeosang again. She cups his face then lands another peck on his lips. "No more playing dumb. And no more being mean to me or I won't hesitate to knock your head again."

"I'll try not to," he grins without specifying which statement he's referring to.

He lifts her up, who's whimpering, from her chair before setting her down on the counter. He places his palms flat on the table on either side of her thighs, trapping her in between, leans forward and looks her in the eyes again.

"With words."

Her eyes dart nervously as she replies, "Yes, I'll go out with you."

He smiles widely when he sees her reaction, delighted to hear her verbal answer. He bites his lower lip to not appear too eager, but he lets out a chuckle when Anna almost tumbles backwards. He puts out a hand to stop her from falling down the counter.

"I told you to be careful," he says in between laughs.

She rights herself up. "Sorry. Told you that you'll waste your time worrying about me."

He jumps up onto the counter to sit next to her. "Nah, it's not wasting my time if I don't mind doing it every single time. I told you I'm not good with words; maybe it came out harsher than I intended."

"Sure."

They let their shoulders touch as they sit side by side and Anna seems to be thinking for a moment as she looks at her sewing machine. She jumps off the counter before turning to face him.

"I think I already have an idea on how the wedding dresses are going to look like."

"Already?" he muses.

"And it's time for you to find the materials I need." She takes a scrap of paper before scribbling the list down, shoving it to him. "Your job as my assistant starts now. I can fire you if there comes a time, so make sure you do your job right."

He grabs the list and notes them. "Give me an hour and I'll be back."

"Thanks baby."

He stops in his tracks and he looks like he's about to say something, but decides against it. Instead, he smiles and brushes a thumb on her cheek before leaning forward to give her a peck. She sends him off with a shy wave before turning to her workstation, more of her trying to stop from screaming. As he steps outside, he pinches his own cheeks to make sure he's not dreaming.

Baby. The word never fails to make him smile when Anna says it, even though he never showed it before.

Baby. He can live with that nickname.