One second later.

No pain….

Two seconds….

Still nothing.

Finally, after a few more seconds, Youngjae peeked through the crack between his forearms.

There was light, still. Though, it wasn’t coming directly at but from above him. And sitting over him was a blazing, evening sun.

Bewildered, he lowered his arms and scanned his new surroundings. Carefully, yet in the end remained stunned. He was no longer in a smelly tunnel nor was he in the presence of Batmen members. He was at the dead end of an alley and the only egress was in front of him.

Youngjae patted himself down, wondering if he was dead. He cocked his head a little—he felt real alright, but that only made it all the more confusing. He followed the verification with a hard slapped to his cheek. It stung, surprisingly still. Right, when Youngjae could self-inflict some more to awaken himself from this odd, new reality he heard shouting and stomping.

The chaotic and unpleasant noises headed his direction, and it was fast. His eyes gaped with unknown fear. Was it Batmen members? Quickly, Youngjae search for a decent hiding spot. But aside from a lone broken wagon wheel, leaned up against the wall, nothing would shield him from plain sight. For a split sec, Youngjae thought about risking and testing it, but the stormy, husky voice of a lad captured his full attention.

“Hey, move!” Charging at Youngjae was a younger male he had never seen before. And for someone who plans his everyday wear on a daily, Youngjae caught a good glimpse of the runner’s outdated attire. The laddie’s striped, wool cap could be seen trying to flee from the top of his head, exposing his curly brown locks under as he pressed a hand over it. Behind his mocha overall—with both straps hanging off by his sides—he was wearing a plain white-washed-out-tee-shirt, obviously too loose for him. “Get out of the way!” the boy hollered.

Right as the youngling was about to come crashing into him, Youngjae took an innocent step back and watch as the laddie stepped and hopped off the wheel, using it to elevate himself from the ground and allowing him to grip onto the wall’s plate. Then with a swift kick of his legs, the boy was up and over the structure. Youngjae’s jaw dropped in amazement. Did he just witness someone hop a wall twice his height?

“You there!” Youngjae instantly diverted his gaze toward the voice. It was an older man dressed in a black suit with a group of six behind him; they were all in similar clothes. From experience, Youngjae could guess what kind of scenario this was. “Where did that kid go? Did you hide him?!”

He was clearly a bad guy but oh how Youngjae doesn’t like him already. As the male observed them, he regained confidence knowing they weren’t associated with Batmen. With his arms folded across his chest, Youngjae smiled, tauntingly, at them. “Kid? What kid?”

“Don’t play me for a fool,” the other spat, “I saw him run through here! Call him out or you’ll pay for it!”

Youngjae doesn’t have a clue what will happen to the boy if he was caught, but Youngjae could care less. However, the group before him were bad people and Youngjae love nothing more than to mess with them. “Play with me instead. If the seven of you win against me, I’ll personally catch him for you,”

He knew the man bought it because he cocked his head in favor and asked, “Really? How can I trust that you won’t go back on your words?”

Fool Youngjae thought while mentally taking note of how funny the other’s dialect was. He sounded like someone who just came from the palace and was scolded by the King, so now he’s venting to lowerclassmen using slangs. “Simple. See for yourself in a moment,” Youngjae spoke then shrugged.

The nameless his lips—or preferably the crack at the corner of his mouth. Youngjae reckons he got it from a fight; probably was slapped by the King. Unless, the kid caused it, which would explain the mad chase. “You mess with the wrong group, fella,” without another word out of him, he took a step back and let his pawns do his dirty work.

As the party of half-a-dozen launched their fists and bodies at him, Youngjae managed to stand his ground and counter their attacks. Using the walls to his advantage; he left his attackers immobilized either from a collision or rebound. Finally, with a clear path between him and the alpha of the fallen litter, the solitary chose the moment to exercise his “don’t-mess-with-me” face. The one Himchan taught him in case he gets thrown in jail and has to face the other inmates.

Youngjae lowered his head a little and put as much force as he could into his eyes. His hands were pockete