August, 2017 - Poluo Town, Republic of China

It took a few moments, Minkwan's body being stretched and compressed in different angles through the teleportation system before both her feet finally hit solid ground. Resisting the urge to throw up, she tightened her grip on the handle of her suitcase and squinted. As the static in her left eye cleared, her surroundings came to focus- a dilapitated and visibly abandoned laboratory, with wires and tubes trailing from the ceiling into the teleportation pad she now stood on.

Gwangseob popped into focus as well next to her, seeming visibly less shaken than her before gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "Let's start walking," he informed her, glancing around the room before easing her forward, "We don't want detectives on our trail, do we?" Minkwan watched him smile- pleasant but false, one she was clearly aware of, and nodded, gently pulling her suitcase with her as they exited the old-looking room to the dirt road before them.

Poluo Town was quiet, being that it was late at night when they had arrived. Gwangseob beckoned her to a creaky-looking inn not too far from their current location, and as they stealthily snuck in, Minkwan couldn't help notice the black-haired man at the counter stir at their presence.

"Whooooo?" he spoke, slurring visibly as he raised his head, squinting at them with bleary eyes as Minkwan immediately felt herself being pulled back behind Gwangseob. The older man smiled, launching into some pleasantries explaining his absence and then asking for a key to 'his room'. The tousled-haired man stretched, and Minkwan immediately noticed the jerky tics of the other, almost as though he was pulled by strings of a puppet, before he got up, placing both his hands on the table as he cast a gaze at them both.

"Dun th'nk 'm stupid jus' becus I sl'r a bit," he warned, still slurring visibly (Minkwan now was aware that he obviously had speech problems), "We've 'ad prob'ems with the 'che since one of th' guards got sho' dead. If you th'nk that we dun susp'ct you, sc'tist, you've got an'ther th'ng c'ming." Gwangseob frowned and Minkwan saw a blade shoot out from under his palm- there was a gleam of exchanged blows and she stiffened before stepping out, pointing her finger at the innkeeper who had stopped the blade with a long, fan-shaped fin from his own arm.

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Gwangseob dislodged the blade, taking a step back as Minkwan held her stance, her finger still pointed at the other. "You're a detective," she inferred, raising her thumb towards the other and keeping her gesture, "You should know what I'm capable of. You can take it, but don't make me. Please." The man staggered ahead, watching the girl with an air of curiosity, and then, he grinned, seemingly placated by the gesture. Either that, or he was deferent for her, whichever made Minkwan feel better about this chaotic situation.

"You r'lly take aft'r your fath'r," he commented softly, wagging a finger as he staggered back into his seat, "Let K'yul kn'w th't his da'ther show'd up causin' me gri'f." Minkwan swallowed hard, finally lowering her hand as she saw a key placed on the counter before them- she grabbed it with furtive thanks, following the number to the room as she gestured to Gwangseob to follow.

There was only so much coercion she could do when it came to her abilities, really, and to hold one of the only three police officers in the state at gunpoint? What was she even thinking? She grumbled to herself as they entered the small room- a makeshift bed was put away on one side, and complex drawings were strewn everywhere, along the walls of the room as well as taking up much of the floor. Gwangseob sat on the ground, casually pulling out a permanent marker from an arm compartment and once again dotting the unoccupied portions of the ground with more calculations, and Minkwan flopped onto her new bed with a sigh.

"What happens if they call dad?" she whined, and Gwangseob raised an eyebrow, "They'd know that I came with some scientist and dad's gonna show up. He hates you so much, anyway...he wouldn't give up that chance." Her complaints were punctuated with the light, tittering scoffs of incredulity from the scientist, who capped his marker after finishing a long series of analysing before returning his gaze to her. "Think of it this way- what can he do about it? If he teleports here on his own, he's going to get trapped here," Gwangseob pointed out, shaking his head, "He can fret, but he won't do anything else."

With a sigh, Minkwan curled up on the side of her bed, exhausted from the day's events. She felt a knot form in the pit of her stomach, and it was definitely some sort of bad sign.