"Huh? Did you say Luna?" Rally asked, raising his left eyebrow.

Rei pointed her finger down the concrete walkway toward the panther woman, standing near an empty trash bin. She wore a dark purple leather jacket with black jeans and combat boots. Blue eyeliner spread around her dark feline eyes and she had painted her claws pink. She seemed to stare into space while glancing around like a hawk.

“What is she doing here?” Rei asked.

“I don’t know. Let’s ask her.” Rally strolled toward Luna while waving his hand up. “Hey, Luna! Over here!”

The panther woman spun around, widening her eyes at Rally like a frightened cat. “Ah! What the hell?”

“Annyeonghasibnikka, Luna!” Rei caught up to Rally, smirking at Luna. “We’re totally surprised you are here.”

Luna glared at the lynx girl. “Why are you two here?”

“We were going to ask you the same question,” said Rally.

"I was-"

"There you are, Luna." Behind Luna, a catgirl wearing a white casual dress approached her. She has white fur covered in orange and black patches. A Calico cat with long curly orange hair and shorter than Luna. Kind of cute too.

"Where were you? I thought you got lost." She wrapped her arms around Luna’s arm and rubbed her cheek against it.

Luna laughed, rubbing behind her head as she blushed. She looked kind of embarrassed. "Sorry pumpkin! These two are my friends! Rally and Rei! I heard they were coming here, so I left to say hi to them."

The Calico catgirl glared at her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Luna spread a crooked grin on her feline face. "It is a surprise! You love surprises, right?"

The catgirl giggled. "Who are your friends?"

Rally stepped forward. "I'm Rally, and my date is Rei."

Rei waved "Annyeonghasibnikka!"

"Oh!" The catgirl formed an O between her lips. "I didn't know this is a double date." She glared at Luna.

The panther laughed again. "Rei, can I speak to you in the restroom? We need a girl chat."

Rei blinked her eyes. "Why?"

Luna growled and pushed Rei toward the nearby restroom house. The moment they entered a toilet stall, Luna slammed the door shut.

"What’s with you?" Rei asked, standing over the toilet.

Luna glared into Rei’s eyes. "Okay, listen closely. I am only here for a bounty."

Rei widened her eyes. "There is a wanted criminal here?"

Luna gazed at the door. "Maybe, but I don't know who. I only hear rumors of girls disappearing here. Sometimes a couple too. But whoever it is, they have to be worth a lot of crypto credits."

"And you are doing this without me?"

Luna pointed her finger at her. "You said you were going on a date."

"Yeah, but I thought you were taking the night off too."

Luna ran her hand through her hair. "I did until Fiona gave me a gig about this theme park." She sighed. "Hear me out….. I'm sorry, and I know you've been trying to go out with Rally. That I still don't understand."

Rei didn’t care if Luna disliked Rally or not. That was her own business.

"But I didn’t want to ruin your date," Luna continued. "You dig me?"

"Ihaehaessda, but who is that girl you're with?" Rei asked.

"Oh, her name is Tilly Lee. I met her at a college bar near the campus. She's young but very cute." Luna's cheeks turned pink. "And I have a thing for cuteness….. She is also trans-species. She thinks she was born as a cat in the wrong body."

"So she infected herself with the Chimera Virus willingly?"

Luna shrugged. "I don't know, but I heard bio-genetic corporations re-engineered the virus to benefit their customers. Of course, the trans-species are sent here by the law. Most of them preferred to live with their own kind."

Rei heard about people choosing to become Humanimals by their own choices. Some wanted the style to be different. However, Rei never met one in person. "Why didn't they call themselves Trans-humanimals? That name makes sense."

"Maybe they still felt like they were Trans-species. They lived with that term for years."

In the next stall, a toilet flushed, and the door creaked open. Rei and Luna paused as the footsteps hurried off. Whoever didn't wash their hands will spread germs to other people. This was why Rei bowed to people in South Korea.

"Why did you bring her here?" Rei asked. "You might endanger her."

Luna hissed in frustration. "I know, but I can't back her off now. She planned this date after I decided to hunt the bounty. This is the only night we can score before she goes back to class. So I have to juggle both things at once without her knowledge."

"Are you sure?"

Luna pointed her claw at Rei. "I got this as long as you don't get in my way."

Rei sighed. "Joh-a….. You do your date, and I will do mine."

Luna widened her eyes. "Are you going to screw him after your date?"

Rei raised an eyebrow. "Screw?"

"You know, like…" Luna wiggled her tongue between two fingers.

Rei’s cheeks blasted red. "Ileon! No!"

Luna laughed. "I'm just playing with you. But you should look out for the chance."

Rei held up her palms. "This is only a friendly date between Rally and me. I never planned to do a no-no with him."

"Whatever. I'll rip his ass into a new one if he ever breaks your heart. But I will not stand in your way." Luna closed her eyes with a grin. "I got my own pussy to play with tonight."

Rei’s tail shivered. She forced herself to ignore nasty thoughts about Luna’s sex life. Who knows what she will do to Tilly after they leave the park. At least Rei wasn't a pervert, although she couldn't resist a handsome male.

*****

After their departure from Luna and her date, Rei and Rally approached the food district. The area has six open restaurants and one fast-food stand with affordable snacks. Of course, Rei’s stomach needed high calories to last for the entire night.

When Rei smelled fried chicken, she directed Rally to the Chick-Bucket diner. There were more Chick-Bucket fast-food restaurants across the city, but Rei heard the one in Dreamland exclusively made their own specials. Rei still couldn’t resist their chicken, even if their chicken was artificial.

She brought one of their Dreamland exclusives; fried chicken pieces, coated in maple syrup and strings of frosted cream. Rally got a peanut butter jelly chicken sandwich with banana slices.

They sat at a table under a palm tree. Pink and yellow lights sprinkled in the tree-like Christmas lights.

“Damn! This sandwich is good!" Rally exclaimed after he took a bite. "If I eat this all day, it would give me a heart attack!"

"I guess that's why they only make it here." Rei nibbled on her chicken. The sweetness instantly melted inside her mouth. "Hmmmmmm! Mas-issneun! It's like dinner and dessert combined!"

"I know!"

The couple took their time devouring their meals. Soft lo-fi music played through the air, calming down the atmosphere.

After they finished, Rei licked the frosting off her muzzle. "Wa….. I'm stuffed."

Rally padded his stomach. "Me too. For a small sandwich, I feel like I ate a cow."

"Jeodo yo." Rei glanced at the night sky. Her head rested on her palms. "What ride do you want to go on next?"

Rally sighed. "How about we rest for a bit? Let our stomachs settle down."

"Gwaenchanh-a." Rei understood jumping onto a ride with a full stomach could risk her puking up like a storm. And she doesn't want to lose her tasty meal. "Did you say anything to Luna’s date?"

"She only asked too many questions about Luna," said Rally. "Damn, she's like an interrogator."

Rei shrugged. "I guess Luna didn’t talk to her much. Her date will totally fall into a disaster."

Rally shook his head. "Geez, I lost count on how many times that woman dated. And I bet she wanted more than small talk."

"Oh, I don't think so. Maybe she hasn't found the right person yet."

"What did she tell you in the restroom?"

Rei pushed her empty cardboard tray aside. "She said she is actually looking for someone here. A possible bounty."

Rally snickered. "Really, and she hasn't told Tilly yet?"

"Luna didn’t plan to date her, but Tilly wanted to go out before class. She is a college student."

Rally smirked a little. "That's Luna. She never let a bounty slip away from her claws."

Rei lowered her ears. "I just hope she doesn't put Tilly's life on the line. Bounty hunting is a dangerous job here."

"Yup, but Luna can protect anyone. We wouldn’t be here if she was careless."

Rei smiled.

"So, how about I get to know you more since we are here," said Rally. "Like, from the beginning before you became a k-pop star."

Rei’s face blushed. "Iiiiiiii-pretty sure I did plenty of interviews in Seoul. You can look them up on the internet."

Rally shook his head. "No. I want to hear from you personally. This is what a date is supposed to be."

Rei bit her lip until she shrugged. "Gwaenchanh-a." She smiled as her cheeks blushed. "I grew up with a rich family who sold cars. After high school, I entered a computer science academy for a good career. I was a typical nerd back then until I met Roe and Ch'on. When they heard me singing at a bar, they invited me to join their indie idol band. We played in many nightclubs and caught our first music producer's attention. After that, we became Metal Petal. Nappeun eongdeong-i!"

Rally rested his chin on his fist. "How did your parents react?"

Rei crossed her arms on the table. "They didn't care about my k-pop career. If I could make my own money, they didn't need to worry about me."

Rally chuckled. "You were lucky. My parents stopped supporting me when I entered the police academy. To them, ignoring the medical career was the biggest mistake in my life."

Rei pursed her lips. "My parents only supported me for college. I didn’t have a job then, but they are very nice."

"Good. I wished my parents were nice." Rally stretched his arms up. "Uuuuuuuuuh, I feel better now. Where do you want to go next?"

Rei looked around and smiled. "How about the arcade center? That can be our last stop."

"Then what? No more rides?"

Rei giggled. "Or we could go to your place for more fun."

Rally grinned passionately. "I like the sound of that."

*****

Mr.Roberson glanced at the security monitors, sitting on his seat with a warm cup of sizzling black coffee. So far, everyone was having a good time. No fights, no theft, and no property damage. Just the way Mr.Roberson enjoyed each night.

A phone rang next to the keyboard. Mr.Roberson placed his cup down and answered it. "Hello, this is the manager of Dreamland."

"Hello, Mr.Roberson." The sinister male voice crawled through Mr.Roberson's skin. "I need another subject to continue the trial."

Mr.Roberson gulped. "But I already sent you a group of subjects."

"They failed. I need more."

"But I can't keep sending you more. The police will-"

"Do you want me to remind you about our deal? Hehehehehehe. I still remember what you did to take over the park. Do you want to hear it again?"

Mr.Roberson's throat turned dry. Of course, he knew what he did to become the new manager of the park. If anyone else found out, his life and career will be over. But he deserved the park, and he made it better than ever! How else could he take over the park? Sometimes you need to spill a little blood to earn it. "Okay! I will find you more! Just please let it be the last!"

The voice laughed. "Don't worry. I will take a break. But if I don't find my Alice tonight, this will never end. Goodnight."

After the phone clicked, Mr.Roberson hung the receiver up. He must go back out to find more sacrifices to keep his secret safe. If the cops arrest him, his park will end forever, or a corporation will ruin it.