Minki's Apartment

@C. Minki ☤ Maia shook her head slightly but kept her responses inside her. She didnt want to try and explain just what was going on in her head, it would mean analysing it, it would mean using her own work against herself to find the real deep set issues and from there it would require that she accept she had her own mental problems to face. PTSD was likely, it was to be expected with her childhood and what had happened then, but to fall into such an obvious trap many times over, and to still want to go back. She was an idiot and she knew it, but she couldnt shake it. She let out a soft sigh before letting the water out of the sink once she was done. "At least it was good" She muttered with a shrug and a weak smile not bothering to really try and decieve this time. "Dont stay up too late alright. I know you want to catch this guy but sitting up staring at notes all night isnt going to help you. Get some sleep and see if Jason can help in the morning, like a sane person."

@S. Maia ⚕ "I think that's normal, and if you need help unpacking tell me. We will do whatever it takes to make the space start to feel like yours too," Minki promised, he didn't know what they could do but if anything at all helped he would gladly do it. "You shouldn't feel stupid, I think it's a completely valid feeling, and it will take time to adjust, and time for this place to feel anything like a home for either one of us. That's okay, one step at a time. We got the stuff here, that's a huge step, and that's okay if that's all we manage tonight." He pointed out, drying the dishes he was handed and putting them away. "I think I ate about as much as you did, honestly. We can save the rest though, it was good, and it will make a good lunch."

@C. Minki ☤ Maia chuckled a little and shook her head slightly hating how well Minki knew her sometimes. "Its not that I'm not happy... I just..." she trailed off a little focusing intently on what she was washing before handing it off to Minki to dry. "Everything feels like it doesnt belong, It feels like I am trying to take over something that isnt mine, That space isnt mine, this space isnt mine... This isnt normal and its weird and... I feel stupid" She shrugged a little grabbing something else starting to wash that instead staying quiet once again compeletly focused on washing up before setting it aside once again. "Did you even manage to eat or were you too busy calling Jason?"

@S. Maia ⚕ Minki set his phone aside when he heard Maia in the kitchen, getting up to go and help her like he'd told her he would. "You really don't have to do the dishes too," he said softly, walking over to at least start helping her dry and put the dishes away since he knew her well enough to know she wouldn't just go sit down. "And don't you try to smile at me. Stop pushing it if you aren't feeling it, I told you it's okay. You don't have to be happy. I don't expect you to be," he said, because she was just too stubborn for her own good sometimes. He loved her dearly though, and he wanted to help her through this so she could start to see that she had made the right choice. He knew she wouldn't regret it in the long run, but he did expect her to regret it for the first couple of weeks, and possibly even months until it got easier.

@C. Minki ☤ Maia slipped back into the kitchen listening for a moment before disposing of her uneaten food quickly moving to the sink to start washing it up still listening out for any sign of Minki coming into the room, ready to plaster a smile on her face that she hoped would at least be semi believable if it came to it. She focused on her own bowl cleaning it properly before moving on to the rest of the mess she'd made starting to clean that up.

@B. Jason ♠ When Jason hung up before Minki could explain the whole situation he let out a sigh, shaking his head. He had not meant to send Jason in to work, and there was no way he was leaving the house when he knew what Maia was dealing with. So he opted to send Jason a text instead, figuring he might be more likely to listen to that than a phone call based on how well the first call went. 'I'm sorry, I'm not at work. I'm at home right now, and I can't make it in. I have good reason to believe that Jinsoul might have been a victim of a guard who's been making a habit out of ually assaulting some of our patients. I'm trying to find out who this guard is to have them dealt with, but I need a name. If you think you can get anything from Jinsoul it would be a huge help.' He could only hope that Jason would get the text and read it before he made it all the way in to work, and that he hopefully wouldn't be too upset with Minki for the minor miscommunication.

@C. Minki ☤ Jason had grabbed his phone without even thinking, answered it and jammed it between his ear and his shoulder managing to get out a hello before his attention was back on the game he was playing, only really half listening to the conversation. At least until he heard Jinsoul mentioned. He paused the game and sat up properly holding thephone with one hand. "Uh... I mean, Yeah I talk to her a lot but she isnt really forth coming with information" He muttered a little frowning even more as he tried to understand the nature of this call. "Whats this about a guard? Are you still at work? Have you eaten at least..." Jason sighed a little and shook his head slightly getting up and grabbing a jacket. "I'll head in you can explain it then" He muttered hanging up without waiting for the others response heading out of his apartment and towards the facility at a somewhat brisk jog

@S. Maia ⚕ "You don't have to, I can clean up since you did the cooking," Minki pointed out, taking his bowl and going back out to the living room. He picked up his word tablet, turning it on and signing in so he could find the employee information. Finding Jason's file wasn't hard, and as soon as he had the number he pulled out his phone to make the call to Jason. He only had to wait a little bit before there was an answer and it wasn't until Jason picked up that Minki thought to check the time. "I'm sorry to call so late, this is ... Minki," he said, about to introduce himself formally before he realized how stupid that would be. "I know this is going to seem like an odd request, but you're close to Jinsoul, right? You told me you'd spoken to her several times? Do you think you could ask her if a guard here at the facility has ever ually assaulted her, or attempted to?"

@C. Minki ☤ Maia sighed a little and nodded slightly watching you write for a moment before looking back at you. "We already knew that. Dont forget to eat, I'll come back to wash up in a bit" She muttered taking her own bowl heading out of the kitchen and into her room gently kicking the door shut behind her onlyto be greeted by a room full of boxes once again. She let out a soft sigh and set the bowl down out of the way before sitting on the bed pulling a box over in front of her pulling it open. It was strange to see her life packed away into a few assorted boxes, some things hidden, some she probably should have left behind, and some that were completely useless. The only things she really needed were her clothes and now she was surrounded by almost a decade's worth of a life that had seemingly amounted to nothing. Maia spent most of the time she should have been eating pulling things out of boxes, looking them over only to put them back. Anything she managed to leave out of the box went back in soon after as she struggled to find the right place for each thing without feeling like she was invading someone elses space with it.She finally settled on something, close to an hour later, pulling out a small desk lamp, that shouldnt have been important, putting it down on a bedside table and plugging it in before grabbing her bowl heading back out to the kitchen to start cleaning up.

@S. Maia ⚕ "Because we both know serial predators have a type, and there is always more than one victim. My patient might be a victim, but I know they aren't the only one. If I can find another one that's similar to them then I bet you I can find another victim, and maybe they would be willing to give me a name," Minki pointed out, tapping his lip with his pen thoughtfully. He heard a lot of rumors at the office, in a facility like that nothing really stayed secret for long. "Jinsoul, I'm going to look at her file. I know she hasn't been in the Medbay recently, but I can bet she's come across this guard. I think I might know someone she would be willing to talk to," he said, quickly writing that down before he could forget. "I'm going to have to dig into the files to find Jason's number, thank you Maia you're brilliant."

@C. Minki ☤ Maia looked over when she heard Minki come back in shocked back out of her own thoughts and into the drama focused at work. She frowned a little at his question half tempted to tell him shecouldnt get involved and then sit in the apartment doing nothing all day while he continued being a detective only to ask obscure questions that she couldnt begin to tie into anything. But instead she sighed a little and turned back to the food. "I know of a few" She responded with a shrug. "But its a guard right, not a patient, what does knowing patients histories going to do to help you?" She added turning the heat off and starting to dish up the food. "Anything I could offer you will be in their personal records Minki. You have clearance to look through them as much as I do." She added setting a bowl of food in front of him before grabbing her own. "Go read about them and find out"

@S. Maia ⚕ "I will find out if there's anyone she's close to," Minki nodded, writing that down to remind himself to ask Sori the next time he saw her. Assuming he could ask in a way that wouldn't seem strange or suspicious. He wasn't exactly a therapist, and tact wasn't always his speciality. He had a habit of being a bit too detached sometimes, a fact that Maia liked to scold him about a lot. He was working on it, and he was trying to be sensitive about this even though he really just wanted to shake her to get answers out of her so he could have this resolved. He hated knowing that there was a guard working at the facility that was assaulting the patients like that. Those patients had enough to deal with, they didn't need that too. Even Joonyoung knew nothing about it though and it was getting frustrating. He just hoped he'd be able to talk to Sori and get answers from her soon. A thought occurred to him though and he picked up his notebook, going into the kitchen. "Hey, do you know any patient that were either admitted for, or are known around the facility for anything involving ? I think this guy might be specifically targeting the patients he knows can't cry ."

@C. Minki ☤ Maia chuckled a little listening to the other carefully while still trying not to get to interested in what was actually being said. She focused on her cooking spending more time looking in every cupboard than anything. "If you cant tell me stop telling me Minki. Your only making me more interested. Maybe using another patient would work? Is there anyone she's close with? And you know... I can help, I might not be able to do the whole drugs thing but I can do the whole talking thing, and then the whole pestering Joonyoung until I get my way thing." She added before focusing on the cooking again chucking things into the frypan before anouncing she could no longer hear anything he had to say wanting to keep the privacy in place and stop herself getting any morecurious and going on a man hunt during her 'time off'

@S. Maia ⚕ "I know, but it's at least moving in the right direction," Minki pointed out, amused as he nodded and headed out of the kitchen to where his notes were tucked on a stand next to his favorite chair. "And I know that look, but you know I can't share too much information with you. She's dealing with a lot of trauma from it though, and it seems like this isn't the first time she's been ually assaulted like this by this guard, she's terrified of him. I prescribed her some basic sleep aids, and I'm going to talk to Joonyoung about seeing her as quickly as possible to see if he can get her something that will actually help her. I can't do anything for the nightmares or the anxiety, but she's not sleeping. I know whoever this guard is they've attacked more than just her, I just need to find someone else who would be willing to talk to me and give me a name," he said, because he knew that look on Maia's face and he knew he well enough to know that she was concerned. He just wished he could share more without invading his patients privacy.

@C. Minki ☤ Maia shook her head slightly but nodded a little. "Alright alright, beer stinks though" She muttered turning her attention back to what she was doing with asoft smile waving one hand dismissively. "Go to your notes then Minki, I will be fine here." She responded fighting the urge to ask more about what he knew, who he was talking about and her own desire to find the guard. This was his thing to do and she wasnt going to take that from him. Not any time soon. "I'll call when the food is ready? Or would it just be better for me to bring it to you so you can keep working?"

@S. Maia ⚕ "I'm not drinking just as much," Minki defended himself, tipping his head back with a sigh. "If we're looking at alcohol content alone, if I drink beer instead of whiskey I'm consuming much less alcohol. I'm not drinking more beer to make up for it, I'm just replacing my normal glass of whiskey with beer instead," he explained, looking around the kitchen before he slowly shook his head. "I don't know, I think I should just go bury myself in notes or something. I'm trying to track down a guard that ually assaulted one of my patients, so I'm trying to search through records to see if anyone made any complaints similar. She won't tell me his name, she's too afraid, but if I can figure it out I can have him dealt with."

@C. Minki ☤ Maia rolled her eyes slightly turning to look at the other with the most 'your an idiot' stare she could muster leaning back against the bench to take him him. "I'm pretty sure, cut down the drinking, doesnt mean start drinking just as much of something else" She muttered shaking her head a little and crossing her arms over her chest focusing on him carefully for a moment. They were both taking such big steps and there was going to be a lot of adjustments to be made. Maia was sure there was going to be times when they were going to set things off for one another, and it was going to make it hard to balance their new arrangement if they couldnt find the right ways to mend those rifts. "Will it be easier on you to help?" She questioned after his words knowing how odd this must be for him. "I dont mind either way Minki, whatever you think will make this easier on you"

@S. Maia ⚕ "Because it's better than whiskey?" Minki asked, shrugging one shoulder. "I'm trying to cut back a little at a time, this is my attempt at cutting back," he explained. It wasn't a very good attempt but it was something, baby steps. He wouldn't change any habits overnight but he wanted to keep trying because he promised Maia he would and she was already taking such a big step forward. "You sure you don't need any help?" He asked, not sure how he felt about the idea of just leaving her to do all the work. He felt bad, but he also knew he would be relatively useless trying to do anything other than wash vegetables or something. He would try though, if she wanted. It seemed odd to him, having someone using his kitchen like this. It reminded him of a lot of things he didn't want to remember, memories that should have been happy.

@C. Minki ☤ Maia rolled her eyes slightly and spent the time pulling things out starting to plan the meal out while Minki moved the last few boxes in. She looked over at his words glancing back towards the room before turning her attention to the meal once again trying to ignore how odd that felt once again. "Why are you drinking beer" She muttered shaking her head a little before focusing on cutting. "Just go and relax or whatever, I will bring the food out when its ready"

@S. Maia ⚕ "Hush, you are beautiful and you know it," Minki argued, shaking his head. "And I can cook you know, just not... anything amazing. I don't care what you make, I'll eat anything, especially if it has flavor," he admitted with a chuckle as he went out to grab another box. He was almost done, and a few more trips out to the truck and he was bringing the last box inside. "Alright, that's the last one, you're almost officially moved in. Congratulations," he said, heading into the kitchen to grab a beer from the fridge. He didn't usually drink beer but every now and then it was easier than pouring himself a glass of whisky and he was trying to cut back on his drinking, though he was failing rather miserably at that.

@C. Minki ☤ Maia chuckled a little before looking at the boxes already in the room. They needed to be unpacked, and sooner rather than later was a good idea but she was going to have time to do it before Minki cleared her for work, She knew that much. Perhaps having something to do while he was at work would keep her entertained enough to not go back to where she had been. She jumped a little as Minki came back looking at him before chuckling. "I had to trust your cooking in the medbay... I will cookfor us Minki. I'm too tired to go out, and I have no clothes out of boxes and massive dressing covering my neck and shoulder and cheek.hardly feeling attractive right now." She muttered pushing herself up heading back out towards the kitchen. "What do you want for you first decent meal in, probably years"

@S. Maia ⚕ "You're welcome," Minki said, smiling softly as he hugged her back before he rolled his eyes at her comment. "No, it's in the back of an open truck. Slightly less exposed thank you," he chuckled, taking his hint and standing up. "I'll go get it, you can start unpacking or we can save that for after dinner," he said, heading out to get some more boxes. She didn't have a ton of stuff, but he had rented the truck just in case because he had no idea what to expect and wanted to make sure they didn't need to make more than one trip. The less time they spent at her old apartment the better off they were. They'd gotten out before her boyfriend showed up, and he wanted to stay as far from him as they could for as long as possible. "If you aren't feeling up to cooking tonight we can either order something or go out, depending on what you're in the mood for," he said as he brought the next box inside. He knew this was hard enough and he didn't want to make her go out if she didn't want to. "I can cook, but I don't know how much you want to trust my cooking."

@C. Minki ☤ Maia closed her eyes and leant back into Minki's touch feeling even more grateful that he was there with her. It seemed a little silly that one person meant so very much, or could mean so much by doing next to nothing at all. She let out a breath and simple let herself relax enjoying the fact that there wasno real questioning, no anger, just comfort. This was really a safe space for her, a place where she could finally heal and finally work on getting away from the life that had plauged her so much to this day. "Thank you" She mumbled after a minute moving carefully to give Minki a hug smiling softly as she did. "You really are the big brother I wish I still had you know... and speaking of...Is the rest of my stuff just sitting exposed in the street or something right now...

@S. Maia ⚕ "Well, we will take you to a court sometime next weekend and ask them if they have anything on file," Minki decided, wrapping his arm around her again and hugging her. "It's going to be alright. There's a good chance he was either lying, and using that as another reason to force you to stay, or just never bothered to file it if it was a legal certificate, besides I think marriage certificates have to be signed by a witness so I rather doubt he had one. We will see though, no reason to worry or panic right now," he pointed out, kissing her temple in reassurance. "We will get it all sorted out, one step at a time. I promise that I won't tell anyone, you don't need things getting anymore complicated than they already are. It will be okay though, you'll see. We knew there would be some bumps in the road, and there will be more. That's alright."

@C. Minki ☤ Maia sighed a little and looked down at the floor letting her hands rest in her lap as she waited for the anger or something to come. She expected it, was used to it, knew mostly how to get out of it uninjured save for maybe a bruise. She shifted a little when it didntcome before she really remembered that it was Minki she was with not anyone else. "He did it all... He made me sign it... he took it in... " She shrugged a little and bit her lip slightly pulling her legs back up to hug them close. "Dont tell anyone please... I didnt even mean to tell you"

@S. Maia ⚕ "You married him?" Minki asked, because the rest was easy to deal with. If she needed to be loved without the complications of being in love, then he was always happy to be here and be her rock and her shoulder to cry on as often as she needed it. He knew that she could be the same for him when it was his turn and life just got to be too much. He just didn't quite know how to handle this latest bit of news though he supposed it didn't surprise him all that much. He hadn't met her boyfriend often, but he knew the type and he knew how manipulative they were. "Now when you say technically married, what do you mean by that?" He asked, he wasn't sure how much more complicated this all just got but they would figure it out no matter what. Even if he had to go to court with her to get a restraining order while they figured out how to get her divorced. One step at a time though, he needed more details before he decided whether they needed to seriously worry or not.

@C. Minki ☤ Maia chuckled a little and shook her head slightly. "You can tell you best friend I hate her, she makes you too smart" She shook her head against before cuddling in deciding that at least for now she could take some comfort from minki, for now she could let the world fall down around her, she couldface it later, she could deal with this step by step, but for now she would just feel like Minki told her to. She let herself think over the actions of the men in her life focusing on them all, on every aspect of the way she was treated when she was with them getting completely lost in the thoughts for a moment enjoying the safety net that Minki was being at that time. "You understand me too well. I dont feel like I have to sit here and tell you that its not you, or this place, or anything like that... You know I love your place, even if it is bland, you know I love you, even if your a mess, but you know that... you know how wrong this is for me... I like that I dont feel like I have to explain myself to you, thank you. But... If I really think about the way I am treated I think your the best one for me Minki. I think your the one that knows the most about me, and you still love me. Not in that way, but... maybe I shouldnt be thinking about who loves me that way... I mean... I am technically married after all... " Maia stayed still for a second before sitting up properly slapping a hand over looking away in shock. "I mean... almost married... I was almost married..."

@S. Maia ⚕ "I'm not a therapist, and I'm not going to pretend to be, but my best friend is a therapist and I've heard this story before," Minki said softly, gently wrapping an arm around her and kissing her hair. "You know this is typical abuse thought patterns. You've talked to dozens of patients who have felt the same way. Of course you feel like you're doing something wrong, and it's okay to let yourself feel that way but remember that it's not true. Look at the way he treats you, and look at the way Joonyoung and Taemin treat you. Who do you really think loves you? This is the right choice, it won't be easy, and it may take a while before this starts to feel okay. Don't try to force yourself to be happy if you aren't right now. It's a huge step, of course it's not easy. But I'm here for you, we all are, no matter what."

@C. Minki ☤ Maia tenses a little as she felt Minki sit beside her letting out a soft breath at his words. She knew he was right, she knew everyone was right. This was a good thing, it would be a good thing, but it already felt so alien for her. She let out another breath and carefully leaned against Minki making sure not to pull anything and risk bleeding everywhere on top of everything else in her mind right now. Though the passing out was looking more and more like a nice idea. "I know" She muttered after a moment before pulling her feet up onto the bed leaning more into Minki in the process and wrapping her arms around them. "It feels wrong... being here... knowing this is my room now... I..." She trailed off and closes my eyes taking a deep breath letting herself get control of her thoughts a little knowing that Minki would grant her that much before he started some soft lecture hidden under kind words. "I feel like I am failing him, like I am doing some big evil thing, like... This is the worst thing in the world that I could do. It stupid... but... Its how I feel... I already want to just go back"

@S. Maia ⚕ "I wouldn't hear the end of that lecture," Minki chuckled, carrying another box inside. He stopped when he got to her room and carefully sat it down before he walked over to the bed to sit down next to Maia. "We're all proud of you, you know," He said softly, figuring she was having trouble finally accepting be out and away from her boyfriend. It was a huge step, but it was so important for her and he was glad she was doing this. "You needed this, it was a long time coming and you know everything will be okay. This is a secured building, you're safe here," he assured her, though he knew that no amount of words would really make her feel safe. Only time would tell, and Minki fully expected trouble to find them one way or another. He was prepared for it though, and he would do his best to make sure that Maia was as safe as she could be.