Despite the little bump between Jimin and Jungkook, the rest of dinner went by pretty smoothly.

The group of Outworlders were all pretty easy going. The little mistrust some of them had that I was human quickly dissolved and soon I was starting up conversations with all the different members.

Jin was the oldest of the group and probably my favorite member thus far with his never ceasing smile, cute laughter, and corny jokes he broke over the dinner.

I was properly introduced to Namjoon, whom I'd been intrigued about with his extensive background in biology. His Marks were lovely mauve and cut through his skin in bold lines.

The vibrant black Marked alien's name was Taehyung. He possessed an intimidating aura around him with sculpted features, but he was polite. Jimin talked most with him and it was interesting to see the contrast of Jimin's bright, light silvery personality to Taehyung's more reserved, deeper darker personality.

Hoseok was the brightest of them all, even brighter than Jimin. Getting to know his heart-shaped smile and easy-approachable attitude made me ten times more glad that he was okay.

Jungkook was a ball of energy and talked with everyone nonstop, his champagne Marks glowing as brightly as his toothy smile.

And finally, Min Yoongi. He was the Outworlder with fiery orange Marks that licked up his arms and neck like literal flames with jagged overlapping edges. He had the quietest demeanor of all the members but he smiled at the members with obvious affection.

At one point Jimin took a break from talking with Taehyung to turn toward the fiery Marked Outworlder. "Yoongi hyung, I was hoping you'd train Jiyeon."

Yoongi's eyes widened, obviously surprised at Jimin's request. "Does she even have any background in combat?"

"I'm right here," I mumbled.

"Well do you?" He shifted his gaze on me.

I shook my head sheepishly.

"Jimin, look, I want to help you out as much as I can. But for me to personally train her? And when she has no knowledge of combat?" Yoongi shook his head. "I don't have the time. You can enroll her in some classes and maybe she'll end up with me for a couple of those classes."

"Please, Yoongi." I clasped my hands tightly in my lap. "Give me a chance. I want to be able to protect myself and those who I care about."

"Why can't you do it yourself Jimin?" Namjoon piped up, listening in.

"My father has enlisted me as a full time trainer," replied Jimin. "I'm more than willing to train her during my breaks but... the the progress will be too slow. And we can see the hell that's unfolding around us. I want Jiyeon to be able to hold her own as soon as possible."

"Yoongi, you're only training part-time right?" Now Jin leaned in.

The orange Outworlder offered a gruff, affirmative grunt.

"I say do it. Even just one hour a day can make all the difference."

I shot Jin a grateful look before turning back to Yoongi. "I promise I'm a quick learner and will work hard."

"Promises mean nothing to me." Yoongi met my gaze levelly. "That's the first thing you should know about me. You can 'promise' all you want. Promises can be easily broken. I'll only believe it when I see it."

"So is that a yes?" I asked hopefully.

He hesitated before nodding once. "We'll train tomorrow in the afternoon after my morning recruit class. I expect you to show me that you're willing to work hard. Or else the deal is off. I have better things to do with my time and I need to know spending it on training you is going to be worth it."

"Thank you so much." Anticipation thrummed through me.

"Don't thank me yet," he warned, but there was a softer look in his eyes that hadn't been there before.

The rest of dinner passed in a blue and by the end I felt complete and filled.

Jimin paused his conversation and glanced at me when I rested my head on his shoulder. "You ready to head back to the hotel, partner?"

"If you want to keep talking go ahead." I yawned. "I'm fine."

"Cute," Jimin chuckled and I couldn't tell if he was talking to himself, or to me, or to the boys. "I can talk with these rascals any day. We should get you tucked into bed before you entirely pass out though."

I didn't resist when he guided me to my feet and helped me slide on my jacket. The world was transforming into the familiar haze it did when I was exhausted. I didn't even realize what was happening. One moment Jimin had been leading me by the hand through the restaurant, the next I was on his back, piggyback riding him as we stepped into the crisp evening air.

I snuggled down into his body warmth, inhaling the lovely scent of jasmine and spice from his skin.

"Easy partner," Jimin hissed and I realized I was running my nose across several of his Marks.

So sensitive. I giggled. "Your Marks are everywhere. It's not my fault."

"It's not your fault I have Marks, but turning me on is most certainly your fault," he replied bluntly.

Someone beside him choked a little.

I realized that Jimin's six other friends were walking around us. But my focus was on the silver hair before me. "That's not my fault either," I whined, burying my nose into his skin again, reveling in the alternate warm skin and icy Marks. "You're soft."

"Goddammit Jiyeon," Jimin growled, hands tightening on my legs where he was holding them around his ribs.

"He's the opposite of soft now," somebody snickered.

"Is she drunk again?" A voice inquired behind me.

I felt Jimin exhale. "No she just gets delirious like this when she's really tired."

"I'm not delirious!" I cried out, pouting.

"She's a big baby as you can tell." I could hear the smile in Jimin's voice.

I didn't like it. He was being a meanie. He was teasing me in front of all his friends. I began kicking.

"Hey! Cut that out!" Jimin yelled at my struggles.

"I'm not a baby! Put me down. I can walk on my own!" I continued to wriggle around until Jimin let me down.

The ground beneath me swayed and I almost fell over if it hadn't been for steady arms coming around my shoulders.

Jimin exhaled. "What am I going to do with you?" He muttered.

"Hey what's going on there?" The person beside Jimin and I slowed down his footsteps.

Purple Marks. Namjoon.

I followed his gaze to where a crowd of people were forming in front of us. I blinked blearily, trying to understand what was happening. A sense of alertness began to seize my body, chasing off the lethargy. I realized something was off when Jimin's arms looped around my shoulders tensed.

"Yoongi, Jungkook, check it out will you?" Jimin asked quietly.

The champagne and fiery orange Outworlders immediately detached themselves from the group and disappeared into the growing crowd before us.

Now I was becoming wide awake as I recognized cries of dismay and alarm rippling around everyone. My surroundings were coming into sharp focus. What was going on?

"Wait Jiyeon—!"

Jimin cried out when my body moved forward on seemingly its own accord. Before I knew it I was in the middle of the pressing crowd, somehow managing to use my lithe body to weave around people and snake up to the front.

I almost bumped into a figure at the front, who turned out to be no other than Yoongi.

His face was grim and his eyes flickered over my shoulder just as Jimin and the other Outworlders pushed their way to the front of the crowds where we stood.

"What's going on?" Hoseok frowned.

Yoongi's mouth was a thin line. "See for yourself." He moved to the side.

The scene before me immediately made me regret that I'd eaten so much dinner. Several of the Outworlders around me swore, equally appalled.

A mutilated body lay in the middle of the sidewalk, limbs twisted at awkward angles. Dried blood caked the limbs and face along with a familiar dreaded yellow substance. Unseeing eyes still reflected agony and fear beheld in its last moments.

An Outworlder, the Marks utterly extinguished. Dead.

And if that wasn't bad enough, there was a note that had been nailed into the twisted corpse's abdomen.

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