City Undertaker || Bang Chan Mafia AU

26: A Fresh Start

Lex had been contemplating going back to the underground bar. If she was in the gang to stay, then the bar was a thing of the past. It invited nothing but trouble every time. Or maybe she invited trouble. Or maybe she is the trouble. But she supposed one last visit wouldn't be the end of the world. She might visit Manny too, to say farewell.

Maybe she was jumping the gun. If all else failed she'd have to come crawling back. It wouldn't hurt to visit, well it wouldn't hurt her, it wasn't guaranteed for everyone else. She had already made a name for herself in the underground of the city.

Her first step into the bar triggered her flight or fight. Once again, it reeked of alcohol and a bit of sweat. Since the weather started warming up slightly, she knew it was going to get musty. It was nearly September, the beginning of spring.

Lex encountered none other than Chaeyoung herself. If she was being honest, she hadn't put much effort into their friendship and wanted to declare it a lost cause. She was kind, kinder than she had to be to someone like Lex. But... Lex just wasn't interested.

"Hey! How have you been?"

"Fine, I suppose." Lex shrugged. "Probably not going to come back here for a while."

"Why's that?"

"Found a new job," Lex answered vaguely. It wasn't a lie, just not the whole truth. It wasn't really her business anyway.

"Am I allowed to ask where?" Chaeyoung further inquired, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Ahh, it's kind of private." lex didn't have a reason to trust her.

"Alright then." Chaeyoung seemed a little disappointed.

Lex's eyes wandered before gluing onto Chaeyoung's hand. It was subtle, almost barely visible but she caught it. Some of her fingers were smudged with a dusty blue. Almost like... chalk? She was immediately reminded of the blue chalk on her door. Was Chaeyoung stalking Lex?

Lex suddenly felt cold as realisation dawned on her. No, maybe she was jumping to conclusions. She found the chalk days ago. But how much of a coincidence could blue chalk be? How many people messed around with that stuff. Now that she thought about it, she doesn't even KNOW if there were children in the neighbourhood of the motel she called home.

"What's new with you?" Lex asked in return. While it seemed like she was reciprocating in small talk, she was really trying to investigate. Why would Chaeyoung have blue chalk on her hand? She wanted to ask but was hesitant in case letting her know it would somehow spur her into action. She had to be strategic.

"I don't do much. I really just come here for the thrill. My life is boring and I live with a boring roommate." Chaeyoung responded, huffing and shaking her head.

"Your roommate know you do street fighting?"

"Probably. Or they'd at least suspect something. Considering I come home beat up sometimes."

"Yeah, probably."

Lex wanted to leave. If she didn't trust Chaeyoung before, she definitely didn't trust her now. She was suspicious. It was selfish of Lex, but she wouldn't lose anything by cutting the other women off.

Maybe that's what Minho thought about you.* The intrusive thought caused her to mentally flinch, and she blinked furiously. Well, now she ruined her own mood. She diverted her attention back to the problem at hand.

Why would Chaeyoung need to know where she lived? Now she was definitely hoping to move elsewhere soon. Maybe with the money she would earn from her missions, she could find a nicer place. The motel was enough for her, but maybe she was safer relocating again. Upgrading wouldn't be so bad either. She might be able to afford a proper bed.