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Aiko
Aiko woke up to the sunlight hitting her face and the sound of Yuna trying to wake her up. She groaned, not wanting to move. She'd borrowed Yuna's clothes yesterday since her suitcase was left on the train. Rolling out of bed, she mumbled, "I'm up, I'm up," even though every part of her body protested.
Stumbling to the bathroom, she splashed water on her face and brushed her teeth. By the time she headed to breakfast, she was slightly more awake but still dragging. Grabbing her breakfast, she plopped down at the table with the others, pushing her tray away and putting her head down, groaning.
"You look like shit," Jake said, smirking.
"Fuck off," Aiko mumbled into the table. "I'm not a morning person."
"No shit," Sunghoon laughed. "What gave it away?"
"I need a gallon of coffee to function," she grumbled, lifting her head slightly. "And maybe a new body."
"You just need to toughen up," Heeseung sneered, clearly annoyed by her presence. "We don't have time for princesses here."
"Fuck you, Heeseung," Aiko shot back, glaring at him. "Just because you're a dickhead doesn't mean everyone else has to be."
"Both of you, chill the fuck out," Jay interjected. "We don't need another breakfast ruined by your bullshit."
"Maybe if she'd stop whining—" Heeseung started.
"And maybe if you'd stop being an asshole—" Aiko retorted.
"Alright, enough," Yuna said, trying to calm things down. "We all have jobs to do today. Let's not start it with a fight."
Breakfast continued with more light-hearted teasing, but the tension between Aiko and Heeseung was palpable. When it was over, everyone started heading off to their jobs. Heeseung and the rest of the group went to his office, clearly needing to discuss something important. Aiko, feeling lost and wanting to be involved, followed behind them.
As she was about to enter the office, Heeseung pushed her back, his hand firm against her shoulder. "This is a private matter," he said, shutting the door in her face.
"Asshole," Aiko muttered, feeling excluded and frustrated. She took a seat on a nearby bench, not knowing what to do with herself.
Inside the office, the tension was just as high. Heeseung shut the door with a firm thud, turning to face the group. "We need to talk about our next steps."
"Shouldn't we include Aiko in this?" Sunghoon suggested. "She might have information that could help us."
"No," Heeseung said flatly. "We can't trust her."
Jake sighed. "Look, man, she's not the enemy here. She wants to survive as much as we do."
"Yeah, and her mom worked at Genetech," Sunghoon added. "She could be our key in."
