"Ugh, I hate the cold." Mingi said as he sniffed and rubbed his arms. The two had just left the cafe and were on their way to the movie theater after leaving Hongjoong to lock up the cafe.

"I don't know how you're cold right now, your jacket is as big as a blanket." Yunho jested. "I'm starting to think you're just a giant, overgrown baby."

"It's taken you this long to figure out?" Mingi pouted with mock disbelief. The blond smiled and pushed the other over playfully. The brunette pretended to be hurt and made exaggerated noises of pain. The young waiter rolled his eyes and ignored the dramatics as they reached their destination. The two made their way in and went to go buy their tickets. When Yunho reached into his pocket to get out his wallet, Mingi stopped him.

"No, let me." When the blonde made to protest, the other stopped him. "I've been meaning to thank you for those last two weeks while Hongjoong was still missing. You...you really helped me out. Paying for some movie tickets is the least I could do."

Mingi's eyes were extremely sincere and solemn, a true puppy expression. With a look like that, Yunho couldn't bring himself to protest any further. "Fine, but I'm going to pay for your snacks."

"Deal," the brunette flashed a big grin at his victory as he handed over his card to the cashier. Once finished, the two made their way over to the concession stand. Mingi was looking at each item with a sparkle in his eye as he mulled over the sweets and Yunho couldn't help but be endeared. In the end, the blonde dropped a significant amount of money buying the other whatever his heart desired.

Once the brunette had the bucket of popcorn in his hands he did a little happy dance before tossing popcorn up in the air and trying to catch it in his mouth. The two chuckled as the kernels just bounced off his face. "Stop, you're going to get your face all greasy and you're making a mess." Yunho chastised lightly with a laugh.

"Here," Mingi held a piece of popcorn between his fingers and offered it for the other to take. "Say 'ah'."

Yunho hesitated a moment before taking the offered morsel between his teeth. As soon as the brunette had turned however, the boy stealthily dropped the snack into his hand and threw it away in a trash can they walked past. This pattern continued for the rest of the movie. Mingi would continually offer the other food and seemed to be taking every opportunity to try and feed Yunho when he noticed that he wasn't taking any snacks of his own. He couldn't always get away with throwing it away and would have to force himself to swallow what probably tasted delicious to the normal human tongue.

The movie itself was rather subpar. Lots of cliches of a damsel in distress and car explosions, and though Mingi normally liked these things, he found himself shifting his eyes over to his companion more often. He enjoyed watching his friend's facial expressions he would make whenever something would happen on the screen, the light bouncing off his face and changing with the scene. Mingi felt his lip twitch as Yunho jumped at another loud explosion. If he was asked the plot of the movie, the brunette was sure that he wouldn't be able to give you a clear answer.

During one of the rare moments the student was actually watching the screen he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Mingi had shoved the bucket of popcorn at Yunho a moment ago and had seen the blonde take a fist full but now he was watching the other slowly drop the buttery pieces on the ground. Mingi followed the piece currently falling from the waiter's hand. At Yunho's feet was a whole pile of discarded popcorn. Mingi frowned.

Now that the brunette really thought about it, he never saw the other eating much. Mingi figured it was because they usually spent all their time together at the cafe while they were working or he was visiting. They would take their breaks at different times to keep the coffee shop running smoothly. The other resolved to change that.

Once the movie finished, Mingi held up Yunho's coat for him as he slipped his arms in. "I'm kind of hungry. Did you want to grab some food?"

"Sure," the blonde shrugged. "What were you thinking?"

"I'm feeling Monster Pizza?" The other suggested. "It's always open."

"Pizza sounds amazing." Yunho smiled as they headed out. Mingi was relieved that he had agreed. Maybe he just doesn't like popcorn and didn't want to say anything. Though it was a bit of a waste.

The walk to the pizza parlor was short, quick, and filled with idle conversation. Inside, Mingi once again fought to pay for their food, a battle that Yunho had no chance winning. The place was small and mostly empty except for two others at a small table. Usually the place didn't pick up business until 4am when all the drunks were making their way home from the clubs and waiting to catch the first train.

The two took their plates of pizza slices that were as large as their heads made their way to a table. Mingi made a show of holding his food up to his face to compare the size before taking a monstrous bite out of it with a hum of satisfaction. Yunho chuckled at the other's behavior before taking the greasy slice in his hand and taking a nibbling bite. The lanky student chewed while trying not to obviously watch the other.

"-On Thursday?"

"What?" Mingi snapped out of his thoughts as he realized he was being talked to.

"I was asking if you would be willing to cover my shift on Thursday." Yunho asked while waving his crust in front of the other's face. "I have a big test the next day and really need the extra study time."

"Uh, yeah sure." Mingi pulled a piece off of his pizza absentmindedly. "Aren't there more people that work at the cafe? I've only ever seen you or Hongjoong there when I'm not helping out and you're probably too young to own a cafe."

"Well I have worked there since I was sixteen. " Yunho placed his crust on his plate, now finished with his food. "There are two others but they're more part-time. You will probably run into them at some point. One of them is the owner."

"I figured the owner would stop in a bit more often, yanno, to make sure that the place is running ok?" Mingi said as he grabbed both of their plates to throw away. "Now that I think of it, you were the one who hired me. Isn't that the owner's job?"

The blonde shrugged as they grabbed their jackets and made their way out, "Like I said. I've been there a long time and he trusts my judgement. The man practically raised me."

"Why's that?" Mingi asked.

The other just waved his hand dismissively. "Ah, it's not a big deal. We all have some sort of parent issues, right?"

The student felt like he could ask more about that comment but the way Yunho had said it told him it was a conversation for another day. Besides, their friendship was still fairly new, bordering on just one month. Pushing too much, too early isn't good if they aren't ready for it. They hadn't yet had the time to spill all their life secrets and past traumas yet. The day will come where they unlock all the skeletons in the closet.

Instead, the two changed topics as they made their way back to the cafe since it wasn't far and Yunho lived right above. Mingi had made up an excuse saying that he left something inside as a way to walk the other home but something told him the young cafe worker knew otherwise. The temperature had dropped even further during the movie and the two walked close enough to bump shoulders for added warmth.

Yunho quickly unlocked the door with shaking hands and they barreled inside at the first click. "Do you know where you left your keys?" He asked through chattering teeth.

"Uh, yeah. They're somewhere behind the counter." For a moment, Mingi had forgotten his little white lie.

"Oh, good. Do you mind locking back up after you grab them? I shouldn't have had the large soda." The blonde didn't even wait for the other's answer before he rushed into the back room where the kitchen and staff bathroom was.

A little stunned at being left so abruptly, Mingi shrugged at the other's behavior. At least this way he wouldn't have to fake finding his keys. He made to turn on his heel when a sudden retching sound caught his attention followed by violent coughing. Curious and a little alarmed, the brunette turned on his heel and crept closer to the noise.

Figuring it was coming from the back room, he placed his ear against it only to be assaulted by another round of nauseating sounds. Not wanting to alarm who was on the other side, he cracked the swinging door open and peeked inside. There, with his hands on either side of the sink, was Yunho as he coughed. After a moment, the blonde grabbed a water bottle and took a swig, swishing the liquid in his mouth, assumably to clear out his mouth, before spitting it back out in the sink.

Concerned for his friend, Mingi made to take a step forward and help the other when he noticed the blonde take one hand from beside the sink to stick two fingers down his throat. The brunette jerked back at the site, accidentally knocking his shoe on the door in alarm. At the sound, the blonde glanced up and Mingi dove to hide on the other side of the counter.
A few seconds passed and when nothing else followed, the young man knew that Yunho didn't further investigate. The only thing that happened in the next few minutes were the sound or running water, a door closing, and Yunho presumably walking up the stairs back to his overhead apartment.

Despite the coast being clear, Mingi sat there for a few moments longer trying to process what he had just seen. He knew Yunho didn't eat much at the movie but the brunette was glad to see there was no protest to eating pizza. He had just figured the other wasn't hungry until then but to make yourself binge and purge was another thing.

Standing up, Mingi made the decision to not confront his friend. Their friendship was too new and it was a really sensitive kind of thing to just bring up but his eating habits were starting to worry him. He decided that he would just keep an eye on his friend and watch. The first sign of any dropped weight or behavior changes is when he decided that he would make a move, no matter how unpleasant it might be.
Mingi made his way to the door and locked it back up with his copy of the cafe key. Yunho had helped him through so much before and now it was his chance to pay him back. He didn't really know much about this kind of stuff, maybe he would go pick up a book at the campus library this week. He just hoped that he wasn't overstepping.

XXXX

Hongjoong opened his eyes to complete darkness. Left, right, up down. He turned his head to glance at his surroundings. The blackness expanded as far as the eye could see. No sounds greeted his ears but a near suffocating silence. Despite the darkness of his area, there was still light to see his hands. The student looked down at his body. He found himself dressed in a white hospital gown.

"Hello?" He called out. The man half expected the voice to echo by the emptiness but it was just absorbed by the abyss.
"

You better scream." The student whipped around at the sound of another voice but was greeted by a pair of hungry black and red eyes. The scene had changed. He was outside by the river, exactly as it was last night. "I like my food to have a little extra flavor."

Suddenly, Hongjoong couldn't breath. He glanced down and saw the Ghoul's Kagune wrapped around his throat and his feet off the ground. The man reached up and grabbed at the appendage. It was deja vu all over again as he felt the air escape his body.

"You're weak." A voice spoke hissed. This one sounded different from the Ghoul's. The sound felt as if it were right next to his ear and far off in the distance at the same time. Vaguely the voice sounded familiar

"Pathetic."

The Kagune tightened.

"A disgrace."

Hongjoong choked.

"Worthless."

His arms dropped.

"Weak."

He fell.

"Guh!" Hongjoong gasped and bolted upright in bed, his chest heaving as he tried to rapidly intake air and slow his rampant heart beat. His forehead was beaded with sweat and he could feel it running down his temples.

A buzzing sound went off next to him. Looking over at his night stand, Hongjoong spotted his phone ringing. The photo was replaced with Yunho's name as it flashed across the screen.

The student reached for the phone and took the most steadying breath he could manage but his voice still came out as a whispered croak. "Hello?"

"How soon can you get here?" The voice greeted on the other end without preamble.

"Did I miss something," the other replied, already getting out of bed. "Was I supposed to work today?"

"No, staff meeting." Hongjoong was still a little confused. He didn't think he has heard Yunho speak so tightly before and that set him on edge. With his phone pressed in between his ear and shoulder, the man set about searching his room for the cleanest pair of pants he could find, sniffing a few before deciding to toss them away.

Hongjoong pulled his phone away and glanced at the time. It was early in the morning, the cafe wasn't even open yet. "Is it a staff meeting or a staff meeting?"

"I don't get it." Yunho furrowed his brow on the other side of the line. "You just said the same thing twice."

"You know," the student pressed while hopping around and trying to shove his leg into the cleanest pair of pants he could find. "Is it official business or official business."

"You just did it again!" the voice on the line exclaimed. "All you did was repeat yourself."

Hongjoong rolled his eyes as he buttoned his pants. "Nevermind. I'll be there in a minute." Hanging up the man threw on a pair of shoes and grabbed his keys.

Once out the door the red-head skipped down a few steps. He decided that he would take his bike to get there faster. He quickly fiddled with the lock on the bike rack before he managed to click the object open. As soon as it was free they hopped on the bike and pedaled as fast as he could. He wasn't sure how dire this meeting was going to be but the other's voice sounded a bit intense so he figured he should hurry.

Since there was no traffic this early in the morning, the ride there was only about five minutes. Hongjoong decided to park his bike around the back and enter through the rear door. He placed his bike against the brick wall before twisting the knob. The door was unlocked but the kitchen area still had the lights off. He quickly made his way into the dark hallway. He spotted light spilling out from an open door and walked towards it. When he was closer he could hear voices.

"I called not too long ago. He should be here any minute now." Hongjoong knocked lightly on the door frame to announce his presence. He was met with three heads turning towards him. He recognized two of them but the third was an unknown man. The occupant was dressed in a black trench coat with his face partially covered.

Yunho was the first to register his presence and waved him in. "Hongjoong, this is KQ. He owns the cafe and is the reason we are all together."

"Nice to meet you," The red-head reached out and shook the other's hand.

KQ nodded. "I'm very sorry for what happened to you but I'll be happy to help you in any way we can."

The red-head didn't bother responding and grabbed a seat on the spare couch and smoothed his hands down his thighs. It was intimidating to have three sets of eyes peering at him. He reminded him of whenever he was in trouble. "So, what's going on?"

Yunho sat across from the other and next to Wooyoung. "The attacks in the area have been increasing lately and they've been getting a little close to home and starting to interfere with the distribution of feeding grounds. It might be about time to step in."

"Wait," Hongjoong held up a hand. "What do you mean it might be time to step in?"

"It means," Wooyoung cut in while leaning back and crossing his arms and legs. "That we are about to go kick some rogue ass."
"Kick some-we have to fight?" The red-head exclaimed, his voice squeaking at the end.
"Hongjoong-ssi," KQ said calmly from his corner of the room. "It has occurred to me that you might not actually know the purpose of this organization, which is understandable considering you have only been here a week, but there is a lot you don't know."
"Well then," the student groused, mildly sarcastic. "Care to enlighten me?"

KQ didn't seem phased at the sass. "We are an organization known as Ateez. Our main mission is to help and provide assistance to Ghouls in need, much like yourself, who just want to live a peaceful life. We provide food, resources, and sometimes shelter if pertinent. We have worked hard to create a safe environment for these people. Having allocated feeding grounds reduces Ghoul on Ghoul violence and territorial disputes that can cause humans to be caught in the crosshairs. The increased attacks threaten this peace and may cause others who feel their territory is being trespassed on to feel threatened. If we do not put a stop to it promptly, we may see an uprising."

Hongjoong didn't know how to respond to that. Instead, he pursed his lips and lowered his head. He felt like he had been thoroughly chastised even though the tone and words were not at all harsh. He forgot that there was so much that he didn't know about this world or its people and the thought made him realize how foolish he really was.

"I-I don't know how to fight." He responded in a tiny voice. As much as he was grateful for all the help this organization had given him, there were some things he wasn't sure he could do."I don't think I can fight."

"I'm sorry Hongjoong, but I unfortunately can't let you out of this." KQ didn't even seem to bat an eyelash at the other's words and his tone was ironclad leaving no room to wiggle his way out. The red-head looked up to meet the other's eye. "If you are going to be apart of this organization and receive assistance, then I need your one-hundred percent commitment that you will defend it with your life. A group is only as strong as its weakest component and I don't need any spare parts."

"B-but!" The young man sputtered. "I would just be a liability! Look at me," he gestured down to himself. "I couldn't fight even if I wanted to."

"You could learn," Yunho was quick to cut in. "Wooyoung could teach you. He is one of the best fighters among us."

"I can what?" The blonde replied, slightly aghast. "I'm a babysitter now?"
The young waiter rolled his eyes. "You would make a great teacher. Besides, who said you had to do it yourself."

"Oh no," Wooyoung shook his head. "I'm mad at him. I'm not going to ask him for any help."

"Come on!" The other protested. "You can get over it just this once."

"Who is 'he'?" Hongjoong asked. He felt he was watching a table tennis match with the back and forth.

Wooyoung didn't bother answering the red-head and just huffed. "Fine, but you owe me."
Yunho let a bright smile in victory. "You're the best. You think since you are going to teach him to fight, you could take him to go get his mask too?"

"Really?!" The blonde groaned in defeat. "I have to do everything."

"I'm still right here you know," The student supplied with mild ire. "Who is 'he' and why do I need a mask?"

"You are familiar with the CCG correct?" KQ asked. At the red-head's nod he continued.

"Their sole mission is to hunt and kill our kind. It is not uncommon that you may run into one of them and have to defend yourself. To protect your identity, and those around you, it is best to wear a mask when dealing with them. If they manage to get one glimpse of your face, life as you know it may cease all together. A target is on your back now. You not only put yourself, but all of your loved ones in danger."

The more KQ talked, Hongjoong noticed Wooyoung's lips getting thinner as he pressed them together tighter and sunk back into the couch. The student felt as if there was a story there but figured now would be a bad time to ask. "So, where do I get one of these...masks?"

"We have a guy who customs all of our masks personally. He is also apart of Ateez." Yunho said. "Wooyoung can take you to him this afternoon, he is over there the most."
The half-ghoul sighed and rubbed at his forehead. "I guess I can go after class."

"Uh, Hongjoong," the blonde wasn't finished apparently. "Since you're here, we should probably get you something to eat."

"No," the red-head snapped back immediately. "I have already drawn the line."

"It's been a week!" The young waiter exclaimed. "You can't keep living like this."

"You haven't eaten since you changed?" Wooyoung said in disbelief. "Are your trying to kill yourself or just everyone around you?"

"Hongjoong," KQ said softly. "I wasn't aware you hadn't eaten since you were found. A Ghoul can go for a month without food but any more than that, it becomes quite dangerous and we don't know the full effects of your adapted state."

"What? So I just become a mindless murderer?" the red-head scathed.

"Contrary to what you may believe, Ateez does not mindlessly hunt other humans." KQ said placatingly. "We procure our food through other sources."

"I don't care if they offer themselves on a silver platter!" He knew he was being irrational but the thought of cannibalism, even if it were for his own personal survival, still made him queasy. "I saw that future last night and that is not a path I want to walk."

"Wait, were you attacked last night?" Yunho asked with concern.

The student nodded. "By the river when I was walking home. He came out of nowhere." He decided not to mention the CCG's involvement for now.

"That's why there were a bunch of Doves out by the river this morning." Wooyoung stated.

"How did you wiggle your way out of that one?"

"Doves?" Hongjoong chose not to acknowledge the question directed at him. He hadn't had time to think about how to get out of that one.

"It's what we call the CCG officials in public." Yunho supplied. "It's code. Every Ghoul knows it. It gives us a safe way to communicate danger in the area."

"Can't be too careful." Wooyoung leaned back with his hands going behind his head. "They've been getting pretty bold lately and all these attacks are just bringing them closer and closer to home."

The red-head shuffled in his seat. He didn't know how he should react. On one hand, the CCG is there to protect humans. Hell, they had even saved his life last night. Granted they didn't know who he was but growing up, the agents had always seemed like super heroes coming in to save the day. However, they were nothing but villains to the three people sitting before him. They swoop in at the dead of night and threaten their loved ones like lambs to the slaughter. The thought was suddenly giving Hongjoong a headache. He didn't have time for this right now.

"I have to go." He said while quickly standing. "I'm going to be late for class." The others raised their eyebrows as if they didn't quite believe him. It was still unnaturally early in the morning but they decided to let it slide.

"I'll meet you outside the cafe at around two." Wooyoung called after him. Hongjoong barely spared a second to nod in acknowledgement of the other man's words before he was out the door. He hurriedly hopped on his bike and headed home for a nice long shower, all the while Seonghwa's business card burned a hole in his pocket.