Days had passed since that man had shown up with his casually stated request, and it had long fallen from her mind, though she had found herself too busy with work to formally decline. Likely due to the high cost, she had no clients in the last few days, which while it was a pain to have nothing much to show for her efforts, she did enjoy working behind the bar just as well, and it offered a decent chance to spend time with her friend. Zen took a seat across the bar, finding spare time since his main job was helping her get ready, and without that, there wasn't a lot to do. He glanced to the side, Yoosung slumped low in his seat, his tongue poking out with his intense focus, a handheld game system gripped tightly in his clutches.

"That boy. I swear, it's no wonder he's awkward with women, his nose is always stuck in those games…" he sighed, tapping a lone finger on the counter. "Can I get a drink, pretty girl?"

Her eyes darted to the corner of the counter, acting like something had suddenly caught her attention, nodding slightly. There wasn't much of a need to ask what he wanted, it never changed, after all. She ducked down, shifting ice in the cooler, grabbing a can from it and wiping the top, cracking it open before sliding it across to him.

"There you are, lovely Zen." she said jokingly.

He swatted at Yoosung's knee lightly, watching him jump in reaction, though he failed to look up. "Did you hear that, she called me 'lovely'. If you'd pry your face out of that game, you might even get compliments like that."

"Uh-huh." he mumbled.

Zen rolled his eyes, reaching for his phone as it vibrated in his pocket. Seven, unsurprising he'd send a text even though he was just in the back. It was rare that he left the security office, he wasn't even sure he actually ever left even to go home. If he did, no one could say that they saw it. He tensed for a moment, his eyes flicking side to side as he read it, quickly replying before pocketing his phone again, his pleasant smile returning. No one noticed enough to comment on it, probably a good thing. He just had to hope she'd go with what he was about to say enough to continue to not ask questions. In truth, Seven had mentioned there were shady looking men in suits hanging out around the area, and they hadn't left all day, like they were waiting for something, or someone. Knowing her family's troubles, Seven had a feeling they were there for her, and asked him to walk her home later.

"So. Seiko, after your shift, what would you think about me taking you to dinner? I'll walk you home, since it's on the way of course. I'd hate to make a lady walk home alone at night…" he said pleasantly.

"Zen, you're the one who needs to cool it. You're so aggressive." Yoosung muttered distractedly.

He had been so still, it was almost a shock to see him jerk to the side so hard he almost flung himself from his seat. "Oh! I won."

Zen again rolled his eyes. "You know moving physically won't make you any better, it looks silly."

"Ya. I know, but I can't help it." he defended, glancing up for only a moment before he began a new round.

Seiko shifted uneasily, her hand smoothing her hair, a habit that meant she was nervous, but thinking it through anyway. "I suppose that wouldn't be so bad. I don't have to work late tonight, so I guess I'm free…"

"That's great! Is there anything in particular you want tonight?" he asked, glad she didn't press for reasons.

She wiped down the counter, pausing to look up to the ceiling, tapping her chin in thought. "I want noodles…"

Zen grinned slightly. He figured as much, there were very few things she enjoyed in the realm of food, and noodles seemed to rank highly on that short list. Even better, he knew a good place that wasn't too far. It would be a lie to say he wasn't at least partly hoping she thought it was more than old friends hanging out, but the most important thing was her safety, and keeping her busy longer than just the short trip home felt like a good way to ditch the creeps.

"Alright, alright. If that's true than…" he heaved a sigh. "I guess I'll just have to take you somewhere nice."

She shook her head at this, frowning. "Not too nice, I don't want to take advantage of anyone like that. Somewhere cheap would be better, it'll be easier to pay you back that way…"

That's right. Maybe it was a result of having to pay back those debts, but she had steadily changed over the years, money was something that disgusted her like this, and she always felt compelled to refuse any generosity out of concern about not being able to pay it back. Given time, he could convince her not to worry about it, it wasn't like it was prohibitively expensive to take her somewhere nicer, and beyond that, she worked hard, and she deserved it, but he wished at least with him, she wouldn't fight it so much.

"You know what I want to say. Why not just accept that I want to treat you to something nice for once, and that you don't have to think about it?" he complained, taking a drink.

Seiko thought back to that man, her brows lowering irritably, scrubbing the counter furiously then. How could that jerk so casually say he'd pay the debts she had been working so hard to take care of, and at the cost of having to pretend to be his lover for some unknown amount of time? A man like that was too much, and it made her so upset to recall it.

"Whoa, whoa whoa...Seiko, go easy on it, you're going to scrub the top right off...I don't think the counter did anything to you...if it's that big of a deal, we'll go somewhere cheap…" Zen relented.

She gasped, unaware she had been so upset, shaking her head, palming her face. She couldn't let herself get so worked up about someone like that, there was no reason, it wasn't like she'd ever see him again as it was. "I'm sorry. I had something else on my mind. Wherever you think is best, is fine…"

Her words were said so distractedly, but at the same time, she had actually given in without a fight. Whatever was on her mind must have really been bothering her after all. Well, there'd be time to talk it over after work, if she felt like telling him anyway.

Zen lightly flicked her forehead, draping her arm around his shoulder, supporting her around the waist, concerned she might melt right out of his grasp and hurt herself.

"See? I told you, you don't hold your drinks so well. Was it not I who told you to stop a few drinks ago?" he lectured sternly.

"I'm really fine…" she grumbled, swaying like an unsteady dancer. "I'm...not drunk at all!"

"Sure. I believe you." he replied sarcastically, rounding the corner towards the small dwelling her family shared. "We're almost there. I'll pour you into bed and see you tomorrow."

"You don't believe I'm not drunk. Zen, that hurts…" she mumbled poutily.

"Don't look at me like that. Men aren't so well behaved, and it makes it tougher if you show a face like that…" he complained.

Right outside the gate, he stopped suddenly, freezing. Something was definitely wrong, the lights were off, and it was apparent no one was home, but the gate was ajar. Someone had been here, and it wasn't her family, they were very good about closing it and locking up when they were out. He couldn't just take her inside now, the best thing seemed to be to bring her back to his house and call in someone who could safely go in and check. With those men waiting, it wasn't farfetched at all to believe they might have tampered with something in the house.

"Seiko, do you want to have a sleepover tonight? Doesn't that sound fun?" he asked suddenly, taking care to sound cheerful about it instead of the deep apprehension he felt.

They slept over a lot when they were younger, of course, and yet, they hadn't once since she had grown up, it felt awkward now, but if it wasn't safe, he wasn't about to leave her like this. That, and he had noticed a strange smell, though he couldn't identify it, the whole situation was too suspicious. Turning around, he started walking the opposite way with her before she could answer.

"'M too big for that now, right?" she asked, her words slurred. "You said so before…"

He had said that before, but this was different from that. "It'll be fine for now. If you're worried about me, no gentleman would take advantage in a situation like this. We can watch movies or play cards or something if you want, or you can take a nap. You could probably use some sleep. I'll make soup, it wouldn't do for you to get a hangover with work in the morning…"

As opposed to saying something about it, she waved a hand. It looked very much like she was saying 'sure, whatever', but couldn't recall how to simply say that. Or maybe she just didn't feel like talking. It was probably his fault for not suggesting she stick to tea, or if she had to drink for not insisting she go with beer. She was never good with harder things, and yet she wouldn't give in and change her mind. When they reached his house, he carefully propped her against the wall, unlocking the door before leading her in, locking it behind them again.

"Ugh. I'm sorry, I didn't know you'd be coming back with me or I would have cleaned first. Anyway...you take the bed tonight, I'll sleep on the couch. For now though, just sit there, and I'll get you some water." he instructed, helping her to a seat.

His phone went off again, and he paused to check it when she had gotten comfortable. He chuckled to himself as she threw herself forward, tugging her shoes off, dropping them to the side. Even wasted like this, she was at the core, the same girl she had always been, and it was cute. Though, it was a bit jarring to see the difference. She was practically a tomboy in her normal life, and at work, she was...very elegant and girly in a refined and delicate way, the difference was night and day. Yet, for someone who was used to seeing her as she normally was, it was a strange thing to witness. Turning his attention back to his messages, he grimaced, replying quickly before she noticed.

Her little brother had messaged him, not unusual either, he was rather close to her family, since at one point, he had been to her house so often it was almost like he lived there, distant from his own family for some time. Her father and brother had gotten stuck in the next town over, a storm preventing them from coming back, though they expected to return in the afternoon. That was good news, if something was happening, it was better they not be home for it, so no one would accidentally get hurt. He sent back a message saying that he'd watch over her until they got back. He wished he knew what was wrong, but it was still just a bad feeling. The police would be upset over such an unfounded concern, but they'd at least still look into it. With that, he meant to tell her he'd return in a moment, only to see she had dozed off. If she didn't wake up soon enough, he'd bring her to bed so she could at least sleep comfortably, but for now it was fine. The police would hopefully call back to report whatever they discovered, if anything, and he could determine from there whether it was safe enough to take her back in the morning, there was just something really strange going on...