The moment Avery saw Jungkook in Miss Huang's office, she knew that a recipe for disaster was awaiting them. Especially because Mari wore a wry expression since then.

If Avery were to be honest, she initially did not understand why Mari was so bothered by Jungkook's presence. She herself thought that a new field agent recruit was exciting— it meant a possible new friend! And seeing another face wasn't so bad.

But it was written all over Mari's face. She obviously wasn't fond of the idea of a new recruit, not to mention that she was assigned to train him as well.

Despite that, Avery knew that Mari's treatment of Jungkook wasn't fair. He did not deserve all that slander within the first hour of being an agent. Not to mention that he wasn't fighting back (verbally) to any of her accusations at all.

Avery was glad that Mari realized her mistakes herself. She would admit that her best friend did sometimes have the tendency to be a little rude, never towards her but definitely to other agents. The only person she was always polite to was Miss Huang.

Still, Avery did understand why Miss Huang made Jungkook an exception. His skills were another level, almost as if he was trained in another ANIMA branch before transferring here. And he was hot too.

"Hey, Mari," Avery clutched her bowl of money as she sprinted down the stairs.

"Hm?," Mari hummed in front of Avery and continued her way down.

"Uhm," Avery squinted her eyes. The illumination was becoming brighter. "Do you really dislike Jungkook? Like, as a person?"

Mari paused suddenly and Avery nearly slammed into her back. She glanced over her shoulder, her gaze piercing through her. The shorter of the two stared back awkwardly.

"Erin said it's urgent, didn't she?," Mari spoke after a long silence. "Let's go."

Avery was confused at how dismissive Mari was. Still, she followed the other agent down the stairs with the bowl of money still pressed against her chest. They soon reached a door with opaque glass.

On the door, letters were etched with bright red paint— ANIMA Research Lab. WARNING! Corrosive materials inside. Please wear protective gear at all times.

Avery quickly glanced at Mari, who was already taking the protective gear from a nearby cabinet. She nodded at the armed guards and stretched out a hand at the shorter girl.

A few awkward seconds of silence passed before Mari spoke. "The bowl. Let me hold it so you can wear the protective gear."

"Oh, right," Avery slowly handed her bowl of money to Mari. She barely caught the protective gear tossed towards her. "Thanks."

Avery slipped on the tall boots that nearly reached her knees. She then put on rubber gloves and winced when it slapped against her skin.

"I still don't understand why this gear is needed," Avery mumbled as she slipped on her lab coat.

"Protocol," Mari simply replied and tossed the bowl of money at Avery, who caught it perfectly. "Your goggles."

"Whoops," Avery laughed and put on her plastic goggles. "Almost forgot."

Mari laughed at Avery. After she finished putting on her protective gear, the guards opened the lab doors. Cold mist seeped from inside and blew right at their faces.

Avery sneezed in her palm. She sniffled as she waved the mist from her face and walked into the research lab with Mari standing right in front of her. Glancing around, she eyed the scientists walking around the area.

Rows of vials containing colorful liquids filled up the research lab's shelves. In the center was a table where larger glass vials contained boiling chemicals. Avery watched as one of the male scientists slowly put a drip of green liquid inside a bowl of red slush.

There was a small explosion from the bowl that coated the male scientist's face and hair with dark soot. Behind him, a female scientist laughed loudly and nearly dropped pitcher of water in her hands.

"Avery," Mari called suddenly.

Avery turned towards Mari and saw her standing in front of yet another glass door. It was of the head scientist's office— Erinnea Alvarez.

If Avery were to be honest, she was still awestruck by the diversity in ANIMA's employee pool. Although Caelum was considered to be a city for all, it was still interesting. Her best friend Mari was from the Philippines, Yeonjun from Korea, Erin from Cuba and herself from—

For a moment, Avery's head spun. She grabbed her head and groaned. Suddenly, she was sitting on the floor.

"Hey, Avery," Mari whispered and shook Avery's shoulders. "Snap out of it!"

"Huh?," Avery mumbled almost incoherently. "What do you mean?"

Mari sighed and massaged Avery's shoulders. "You were spacing out. You almost collapsed but I caught you before you could. Are you feeling okay?"

Huh? Weird. Avery thought she was just feeling dizzy for a few seconds. "I'm okay. Do you have some water?"

"Here."

Hearing a third voice, Avery looked up. On the computer chair sat Erin, who had both of her knees folded against her chest. She wore a similar lab coat, except she had a name tag stitched over her breast. Her curly dark hair fell just above her elbows.

"Water," Erin repeated again. She gestured the glass of water in her hands forward.

"Thank you, Erin," Mari smiled as the glass was passed to her. She immediately gave it to Avery. "Drink up."

Avery nodded and drank down the water in one gulp. She wiped her lips with the back of her hand and looked up at Mari. "Did you get the blood sample results yet?"

"Was just about to tell you," Erin announced and spun around on her seat.

Erin kicked the side of the desk. Her chair skid across the room until she stopped in front of a microscope. Avery noticed the soda cans and cup noodles stacked at one side. Along with those were dirty chopsticks and forks.

What Avery thought stood out the most in the mess was a framed photo of Erin and a guy she's never seen in ANIMA. She remembered asking about it once but the question was shot down every time.

"Where'd you get the blood sample again?," Erin switched on the microscope and looked into its lens.

"We were attacked by a Class E demon whilst investigating a crime scene," Mari explained and pulled off her goggles.

"The alleyway murders, right?," Erin asked and typed something on her computer. "Choi Wheein?"

"Yeah," Avery dragged out her reply in surprise as Mari pulled her to her feet. "How do you know?"

Erin turned towards the computer, where the screen flashed with Choi Wheein's profile. "The forensic team gave me a sample of the victim's blood as well."

A few more buttons were pressed by Erin and the computer beeped loudly. A sudden bright light suddenly flashed on Avery's face. Realizing it was a holographic screen, she stepped to the side and let it play on the white wall across them.

Avery stared at the video feed of red blood cells that played on the wall. Next to her, Mari questioned. "Erin, what's this?"

"The victim's blood cells," Erin spun on her seat and hugged her knees to her chest. "Wait for it."

Avery was about to ask Erin what she meant when it happened. Dark rotting cells suddenly appeared and started to consume the red blood cells like prey. She heard Mari gasp loudly next to her.

"Okay," Avery breathed. "I have no idea what this means but that doesn't look good."

"Those dark cells you see," Erin kicked the side of the desk again. She skid across the floor whilst sipping her soda. "Are from the demon's blood."

For a moment, both Avery and Mari were at a loss for words. Mari spoke first and turned around to face Erin. "But that's impossible. A demon's blood doesn't infect human cells."

"That's what I thought too," Erin pushed her round lensed glasses up with two fingers. "But we're looking right at it."

"I'm lost," Avery shook her head. "What does this mean?"

Mari glanced at Erin, who just finished off her can of soda and tossed it to the pile of trash at the side. The scientist turned towards Avery with a shrug and combed her fingers through her curly hair.

"That demon you guys fought," Erin paused to switch off the holographic screen. "Isn't an ordinary Class E demon."

"Wait, what?," Avery questioned in shock once all the dots finally connected. "Not an ordinary Class E demon? You mean it's a different breed?"

"Don't know," Erin mumbled and spun her seat around. "I need more time to study the sample."

An awkward silence passed as Erin reached for the cup noodles, which was barely out of her reach. Mari silently pushed it closer. There was the sound of tearing as the scientist stretched her leg to kick herself across the room again.

"Let me just," Avery spoke before Erin could possibly give herself an injury. "Pass you the hot water."

Erin nodded and eyed Avery as she walked towards the water heater. She pressed a button and watched the water boil in its pot. Another awkward silence passed.

"You know, Erin," Mari's voice shattered the overwhelming silence. "You should go out more."

"Pretty ironic thing for you to say," Erin replied with a low cackle.

Mari sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I mean it. You coop yourself up in this office of yours and only come out to go to the bathroom. Keep that up and you'll go insane."

Avery kept silent as she waited for the water to boil. She knew that Erin and Mari were acquainted even before she joined ANIMA but also wondered why their friendship was so clouded. The only thing Avery knew about Erin was that she hated being outside.

"Thanks for worrying about me but I'm fine," Erin passed the open cup noodles to Avery once the water started to boil. "I've got everything I need in here."

"Except a toilet," Avery said jokingly and poured the hot water into the cup noodles.

"Right, except that. Thanks," Erin nodded when Avery passed the cup noodles to her. She slowly stirred it with a pair of chopsticks. "But seriously, I'm alright in here. I'm more useful in the lab anyways."

Avery thought Erin's choice of words were odd but based on the expressions on both the scientist and Mari's faces, she decided not to ask about it.

"If you say so," Mari sighed in defeat. She slipped on her goggles. "Give us a call when you have the results, okay?"

Erin nodded and slurped her noodles loudly. Avery turned around when got a gesture from Mari to head out. With a loud sigh, she and the other agent exited the head scientist's office.

"So Erin really never comes out of there?," Avery asked in a whisper as they stripped off their protective gear. "You mean she just stares at the same four walls all day?"

Mari was silent for a bit. She tossed the protective gear to the guards and walked ahead. "She isn't ready."

"Ready? For what?," Avery asked in confusion and clutched her bowl of money.

"Erin wouldn't want me to mention it," Mari whispered a bit sorrowfully, her voice nearly inaudible.

Avery was confused again. Despite knowing that Mari has been friends with Erin longer, she couldn't help but be curious about what really was going on.

"Oh!," Avery chirped when she came upon a realization. "Don't forget to apologize to Jungkook!"

"...Right," Mari replied. There was no energy in her voice at all. "Cafeteria?"

"Yeah," Avery trailed off. "Cafeteria."

Avery was dying to ask Mari why she was suddenly so down. She knew that the agent shared a long history with Erin, something she herself still did not know. It made her like a bit of an outcast, especially when she was around the two of them.

Before entering the cafeteria, Avery shoved the cash in her pockets and placed the bowl away. The moment the door opened, a sweet aroma of freshly ground coffee beans hit her.

"That smells amazing!," Avery cheered loudly and clasped her hands together. "Mari, do you want me to get you a cup?"

"Yes, please," Mari replied in a daze as she sat down on one of the chairs.

Avery nodded and happily walked towards the coffee machine. She paused when a tall and broad figure suddenly blocked her way. It took a moment but she eventually recognized who the man was.

"Jungkook!," Avery cheered brightly.

Jungkook raised his head and turned around. A half eaten banana was in his hand, along with a hot cup of coffee in the other. Avery noticed that he was still wearing his combat training suit.

"Oh, hey," Jungkook spoke whilst chewing. He swallowed loudly. "Agent Averia, right? Is Agent Mari with you?"

"Nobody's called me Averia since my first day here," Avery laughed and shook her head. "Just call me Avery. Mari's over there."

Avery nodded and glanced over her shoulder as she started to prepare two cups of coffee. Jungkook followed her gaze and spotted Mari sitting down with her fists on one of the cafeteria tables.

Jungkook took a long sip of his coffee. "Is she okay?"

"Honestly? I don't know," Avery shrugged and dropped two sugar cubes in her coffee. "She's been out of it since..."

Avery cut herself off before she could finish. She mixed cream into her coffee and glanced at Jungkook. Based on his expression, she could tell that he knew exactly what she meant.

"I see," Jungkook replied quietly. He tossed his banana peel into the trash bin. "No sugar or cream for her?"

Avery looked down at the cup of pitch black coffee that completely contrasted her creamy drink. "She likes it black. Plain and simple. Want to sit with us?"

Jungkook sipped his coffee and nodded. He trailed behind Avery as she walked passed the other trainees in the cafeteria. She glanced at Mari, who was still staring at the tabletop with some sort of daze.

"Mari!," Avery called and placed the cup of black coffee on the table. "Your coffee."

"Thanks," Mari smiled and gripped the coffee cup hard. She looked up and paused. "Jungkook."

"Hey," Jungkook nodded and sat down across Mari. Avery sat next to him. "You doing okay?"

"Could be better," Mari shrugged and sipped her coffee.

A few seconds of silence passed as both Jungkook and Mari sipped their coffees silently. Avery could feel the thick tension in between them, a heavy mist clouded above their heads. It almost made her suffocate.

Before Avery's head could explode in the tension, both Mari and Jungkook spoke suddenly in unison. "I'm sorry."

Oh? Avery did not expect that. She smiled as she sipped her coffee and eyed the two as they scrambled into a confusion of words.

"Uhm, wait," Mari gently set down her coffee. "Why are you apologizing? I'm the one who needs to say sorry for being a bitch to you."

Jungkook shrugged, the cup still pressed to his lips. He exhaled loudly and smiled. "I did provoke you."

"...Well, that's true," Mari laughed. "But I went a bit too far. I'm sorry."

Jungkook bent his arm over his chair's headrest. Leaning forward, he stretched out a hand. "Truce?"

"Truce," Mari nodded and gripped Jungkook's hand tightly.

Avery sighed in relief and clasped her hands together happily. She was honestly glad that Mari and Jungkook weren't going to have a complicated rivalry that could possibly ruin everything. Still, she could still feel the thick tension between them.

"But I know you want another match," Jungkook's cocky smirk returned. "One that Avery would let us finish."

Avery choked on her coffee and nearly spat it out. "You knew?"

"Saw you shuffling towards Hansol like a mad woman," Jungkook chuckled deeply and ran a hand through his curled brown hair. "Figured it would be more entertaining to not stop you."

"Round two, huh?," Mari wore an almost equally arrogant grin. "Deal. Are you ready to lose?"

Jungkook leaned in. "You really think I'd lose to you?"

"We'll see about that," Mari crossed her arms on the table and leaned in as well. "Try me."

Avery noticed the stark difference in atmosphere. There was a more playful tone in both Mari and Jungkook's voices. Despite the tension still being in the air, she could tell they were in slighter good terms than they were a few hours ago.

"Aw, look at you two!," Avery cheered a little too loudly. She swung her arm over Jungkook's shoulders. "You know what this means?"

Jungkook glanced at Mari, who just shrugged at him with a laugh. "What?"

"The start of a beautiful friendship!"

-

"So," Jungkook cracked his knuckles and wiped his forehead sweat with a towel. "Ready for one more round?"

Mari took a few seconds to reply. She couldn't tell how many hours had passed since their sharing of apologies in the cafeteria. What she did know was that she and Jungkook were training together nonstop since then.

"Let me just," Mari held her knees and inhaled deeply. "Catch my breath."

"Aw, you tired already?," Jungkook spun the wooden staff in his hands and smirked. "It's only been our fifteenth match."

"Twenty fifth!," Avery called loudly from another part of the training area.

Mari looked around. Noticing that the training area only had a handful of trainees left, she spotted Avery sitting on a bench with her legs crossed. On her lap was her trusty pink rifle gun.

"It's the twenty fifth match," Avery popped a piece of chocolate coated popcorn in her mouth. "You two really pulled a blinder. It's already night out. Mari, up top."

Mari skillfully caught the water bottle Avery tossed at her. She took a big gulp and noticed that Jungkook was staring at her questionably.

"Pull a blinder means we achieved something difficult," Mari screwed on the bottle cap with a shrug. "A British thing."

"Ah," Jungkook's mouth formed a circle. He flung a towel over his nape and craned his neck around. "Well, Mari here looks beat. Want to continue tomorrow?"

"As much as I hate to admit," Mari was still taking in deep breaths. "I don't think I can go any further."

"So we can go to bed now?!"

Both Mari and Jungkook turned towards Avery. She was standing up now, eyes sparkling and both hands balled into fists. After noticing the stares, she cleared her throat and stood up properly.

"Sorry," Avery grinned awkwardly and fiddled with her fingers as she yawned. "I'm just really sleepy."

"Yeah, we should go change," Mari turned towards Jungkook, who was ruffling his hair with a towel. "Jungkook, did Miss Huang assign you a room?"

"Yeah," Jungkook nodded and stretched his arms. "Dorming with the other trainees. I'm assuming you guys live elsewhere?"

Huh. With the current treatment Jungkook was getting from Miss Huang, Mari honestly expected him to have his own luxurious apartment outside headquarters. Giving him a trainee dorm room surprised her a bit.

Mari was a bit glad. At least that part of the protocol wasn't broken because of his skillset. "We got a shared apartment just a few blocks away."

"Hm," Jungkook hummed and started walking towards the locker rooms. Mari followed. "Rental?"

Mari glanced up at Jungkook questionably. "Why do you ask?"

Jungkook stared for a moment. Again, Mari caught that split second flicker of something different in his eyes. It left as soon as it came and now he was smiling brightly.

"You guys are field agents," Jungkook cracked his knuckles. "Going from place to place for missions, I assume. People like that shouldn't have a permanent living place, right?"

"You're sharp," Mari was honestly impressed by Jungkook's deduction abilities. "Yeah, all field agents live in different places. Can't have us clustered in one place."

"Right," Jungkook halted in front of two doors. One lead to the female locker rooms, the other to the male.

Mari wondered why Jungkook suddenly froze up. His eyes were shut tightly, fists balled and trembling. She debated whether she should touch him or not because he looked like he was about to explode.

"Jungkook?," Mari asked slowly. "Are you okay?"

When Jungkook opened his eyes, he suddenly relaxed and faced Mari with a slightly wry smile. "I'm good. See you tomorrow?"

Mari squinted her eyes at Jungkook and nodded slowly. "Yeah, see you tomorrow."

After quickly changing into a plain white shirt and baggy jeans, Mari walked out of the locker room to see Jungkook gone. She assumed that he went straight to his dorm room right after changing.

Truthfully, Mari thought Jungkook was quite odd at times. There was his sudden split second change of aura and the realization that his expressions were sometimes a little...

Mari was about to call out to Avery when she saw her asleep on one of the benches. She was laying on her side with the rifle close to her chest. Next to her was a plastic bag of chocolate popcorn, some of its contents spilled on the ground.

"Avery," Mari knelt down next to Avery and shook her shoulder. "Hey, wake up."

Avery yawned loudly as she tossed and turned. She nearly fell off the bench but caught herself before she could. "Can we go home now?"

Mari laughed at how tired Avery looked despite herself and Jungkook being the ones who trained for hours. "Yeah, let's go."

Since there were still a few trainees left in the combat quarters, Mari called out to one of them to switch off the lights instead. Avery clutched her arm as the two exited the area and entered the nearly deserted lobby.

Mari still thought the darkness of the area was ironic. During these hours of the evening, headquarters always looked so deserted, true to its disguise as an abandoned building. The only source of light was from the offices above.

Huh. Mari knew that Miss Huang was a hardworking boss but she still wondered why she was still in her office at this hour. Her train of thought was cut off when Avery yawned again.

"Can I get another donut before we go?," Avery asked sleepily and leaned on Mari, rifle still close to her chest.

"You've enough sugar for one day, Avery," Mari tapped Avery's shoulder as they walked towards the exit. "At this rate you're going to get diabetes."

"Diabetes," Avery echoed with a small laugh. "You're right."

Mari laughed and shook her head. She glanced up at the office again, her curiosity almost getting the best of her. Glancing at Avery, she smiled when something came to mind.

"Hey, Avery," Mari asked as they paused in front of the door. "You asked whether I disliked Jungkook as a person, right?"

Avery hummed as a reply. "Yeah, I did."

"Well," Mari smiled. "I don't think he's so bad."

-

Jungkook watched from the other side of the glass wall as both Mari and Avery exited the headquarters. He swore that Mari was looking up directly at him at one point but knew it was impossible for her to spot him.

Ah. Jungkook realized that by now, both girls would think he was up in his dorm room by now. He couldn't help but laugh at the thought.

"So, Jungkook...," Miss Huang asked from her desk and crossed her arms. "What do you think of ANIMA so far?"

Jungkook turned around and leaned on the wall. He raised an eyebrow. "You already know the answer to that."

"Well, I'm genuinely curious," Miss Huang tapped the pistol resting on the tabletop. "Things have changed around here."

Jungkook scoffed and rolled his eyes. He scrunched his nose in disgust. "It reeks everywhere. I can smell the molds. If you have budget for renovation then cleaning isn't out of question."

"I do not think there is anything we can do about the rotting walls."

"You can move, like I've been suggesting."

"That isn't an option."

Jungkook rolled his eyes again. He walked around the office and spotted a framed picture on Miss Huang's desk. Upon inspecting it, he realized that it was of her and ANIMA's head, Mr. Song.

"Your agents," Jungkook spoke sternly.

"What about them?," Miss Huang asked, her hand still hovering above her pistol.

Jungkook pondered for a bit. He remembered all the combat training he had against Mari. The fact that he held back by a lot was irritating, especially with her fiery attitude.

"That girl, Mari," Jungkook flipped the photo to the ground. "She's fiery... a bit too fiery."

Miss Huang squinted her eyes at Jungkook. "You know that I will not tolerate my agents getting hurt, even if its you."

"Why else do you think is she still alive?," Jungkook hissed through gritted teeth. "I would have snapped her neck if she wasn't affiliated with you."

"Jungkook," Miss Huang's tone was one of a warning.

Jungkook ignored Miss Huang's words and shook his head. "And that Brit girl's way too soft. One strong hit and she'll be nothing more than—"

When Jungkook heard the click of a gun, he looked up and saw Miss Huang pointing her pistol right at him. He laughed at her stern expression and walked towards her.

"You're really going to put me at gunpoint for saying a few things about your agents?," Jungkook tilted his head and crossed his arms. "Who are you, their mother?"

Miss Huang didn't say anything and continued to point her gun at him. Jungkook smirked and stepped closer. The gun was inches away from his chest.

"Well, I have a few more things to say," Jungkook smirked arrogantly. "You have poor recruitment skills. There are much better candidates out there."

"Like who?," Miss Huang shot back with a stern expression. "Your old team?"

The smile on Jungkook's face faded immediately. Seeing his change of expression, Miss Huang gave him a bright smile.

"You were always the jealous type," Miss Huang shook her head. "One good thing said about someone else is like poison to you."

Jungkook frowned. He stepped even closer to Miss Huang and grabbed the gun's barrel, sticking it right at his chest.

"You mention them but not me?," Jungkook grinned, his tone playful. "Makes me sad. I'm a prodigy!"

"Stop playing games, Jungkook," Miss Huang spoke through gritted teeth.

"Games?," Jungkook tilted his head and cocked an eyebrow. "If this weren't a game, you would have shot me—"

Jungkook paused when a loud bang echoed from within the office.

-

A/N - short chap cos a lot will go down in the next one hehehehe oops looks like jk got shot 🤷🏻‍♀️

Anyways what do you guys think of HW so far? :o The theme is definitely a lot darker than t7W, so expect a lot of mature content whoops

I'm graduating soon sooooo faster updates!! See you guys in chap 3!!!!