Chapter 4: The First Encounter

The autumn weather had changed drastically in just a couple days and the once cool temperatures where one could get away with wearing t-shirts without a jacket had changed to a deep chill that went straight to the bones and at the very least, a windbreaker was needed to shield from the cold wind that had been blowing through the area for the past week.

It was late in the evening and the sun was descending upon the horizon, casting large shadows over the neighborhood park where dark clouds loomed overhead with the promise of more rain. All the houses that surrounded the park were lighting up with families that were sitting down for supper and talking happily about their days. Meanwhile, Kibum found himself swinging without purpose at the abandoned park. He shivered as a gust of cold wind rolled through, knocking golden and red leaves from the trees. He looked up towards the sky and wondered how many more minutes he could stay there before the rain started. It had been raining all week and he'd had no choice but to stay home unless he was at school, but the minute it had let up he had left the house. Even now he couldn’t bear the thought of returning there tonight; it wasn’t as if there would be anyone waiting for him to welcome him home.

His stomach rumbled loudly and Kibum gripped the chains with tight fists, grimacing until the feeling in his belly went away. He was hungry; it had been days since he'd had anything to eat. The last of his food at home had run out weeks ago and there was no money to buy more of it. School offered a free hot lunch for all the students and that’s what he depended on to feed him, but he hadn’t gone to school in two days for reasons he didn’t want to think about. All in all, he was beginning to feel rather sick to his stomach but he wasn’t sure if it was because he was hungry or because he was just a ball of anxiety and was prone to stomach ulcers.

Each day that passed, Kibum found himself worrying more and more about what he would do once winter came. His parents had shut the power at the house quite awhile ago and he had been able to manage this far, but the cold front was coming in and it was already unbearably cold at night. He really had thought that they would come to their sense and return home by now. It wasn’t as if he had anyone to turn to for help; his family lived too far and he had never been close with them.

When a drop of cold water hit his cheek, Kibum closed his eyes and sighed, feeling more hopeless than ever and couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps he needed to up his pride and tell on of his teachers what was really going on. If he was sent to a boys home, at least he would have three meals a day and sleep in a warm bed. Plus he wouldn't be alone all the time and that was something that was really bothering him.

“Hey, excuse me!”

Kibum jumped at the sound of the voice calling to him from across the park. He looked up and saw a man parking a black car on at the curb before exiting and heading h