Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Amidst the faint bustling noises of the city night, one sound stood out as the exhausted body of a young man sat on the stone cold pavement of a shady dark alley. The overwhelming stench of alcohol started to fill his nostrils, only fueling the burning headache that was pounding against his forehead.

Barely.

Just barely had he escaped with the money he had and, most importantly, his life. However, the price of being able to successfully escape was his health. He was wounded as well as fatigued from being on the run for a few days. If he didn’t stop soon or find a safe place to stay, he wasn’t sure how much longer he would be able to last. Even his fervent drive to escape was not enough to relinquish the fact that he was still human.

As he kept in mind the need of finding somewhere to stay, he settled for a short nap to help with his sore body and let the darkness of the night overtake him.

“Just get that garbage out and you’ll be all set for today!”

“Roger that!” Heaving a bulky plastic bag, a rather petite girl let out a puff of air as she lifted it up and threw it into the metal dumpster. A wise old looking man stood at the doorway of the back entrance and smiled at his hard working employee. “Miya, I’ll be leaving early so, once you’re all finished, lock up and go home to get a good night’s sleep, alright?”

“You can count on me, boss!” Miya gave a smile back as she hauled out the last of the trash bags. She turned around to look at the back entrance, only to find that there was no trace of her manager left.

Must have already gone home… oh well… Ultimately, Miya shrugged it off and proceeded to clean the shop and lock it. After a sweeping of the floors and a thorough check of the money in the cash register, the tired girl grabbed her simple messenger bag and locked the back door and entrance with the store’s keys.                            

The lonely night welcomed her with open arms as she stepped out of the market and Miya began walking into the buzzing streets of Seoul to get to her apartment. Though she had been taking the same route for some years, the dazzling city lights never failed to amuse her.

Aside from the usual shops, restaurants, and buildings, the scenery was always changing. There were always a few new faces on the streets and there would always be a few new stands or events that took place during the night time.

What Miya wished never would change, however, was the main center piece that sat in the middle of one of Seoul’s commons, a lean bright clock tower known as Sky Light tower. Though the delighted girl was always delighted to see the large spectacle, it was also a marking point in the route to her house.

From that point onwards, the scenery would change completely.

The pleasant noises of the city which alerted people of its business and diversity disappeared and, taking their places, were painful ear-wrenching sounds and cries of sorrow and madness. The scent of the fresh clean air of the better part of Seoul dissipated and the atmosphere now reeked of a medley of numerous repulsive smells. The bright lights still remained; however, there was a considerable amount less than that found in Seoul’s center and in no way did they help to light the way.

If anything, the glows acted like a useless night light, continuously flickering on and off, only tricking Miya’s eyes into thinking something had appeared.

Though it was the final stretch of path on her way home, it was the most grueling and caused Miya to sweat a bit every time she took a step forward.

Just like the clock tower, this was an area in which the nervous girl wished would never change as well.

Why?

While her neighborhood could use quite a bit of work and cleaning, the chances of it becoming like the nice decorated Seoul were slim.

She wished it would never change in fear of seeing a new face with a grotesque evil smirk, a new shop which would expand the black market, or a new noise which would tell of an unpleasant situation taking place.

It seemed that luck was on her side because, for the past two years she had been living in the area, there was nothing new to her senses.

Tonight, though, it seemed that her luck had just run out.

From the corner of her eye, Miya spotted a slightly sprawled figure lying on the ground in a back alley near her house. Judging by the person’s form, he seemed to be a rather tall man, perhaps reaching six feet even, and seemed to have a medium build due to the appearance of the clothes the stranger wore.

… Oh no… Had this person decided to deem the back street corner as his new place?

Will I have to see him every time I come home? Wait, what if he’s just here for now… but is planning on doing something? I can’t let him see me, but… then how am I supposed to go home and where am I supposed to go!?

Miya immediately panicked.

A plethora of questions raced through her head as she tried to decide what to do, but it seemed that there were really no options for her other than to quickly walk by and ignore the person.

After all, she was all by herself with really no one else to support her.

But, it was my choice… so I’ll have to stick to it…

Taking a deep breath, Miya gathered all the courage and strength that she had and calmly, though briskly, paced her way past the figure. Once the obstacle was cleared, she scrambled up the door steps and rummaged through her bag to find her keys. As soon they were found, she inserted them into the knob and turned it. With a soft slam to the door, the anxious lady was in her home, safe.

The little episode gave her quite a shock and Miya deemed it as the "highlight" of her day. She took a deep breath in an attempt to settle her thumping heart and jagged breathing

That… was a close one…

All the adrenaline that rushed through her body in the past few minutes was probably the amount that a person would experience in his or her own life!

Shaking the thought off, Miya gave her chest a quick pat as she started to head towards the bathroom that was adjacent to her bedroom.

Her fingers were still trembling as she flicked on the lights of the washroom and examined herself in the mirror. Her hair was disheveled a bit, probably from the little dash she had made to her apartment, and the color in her face had faded, probably due to her fear, but was slowly coming back.

“Well, it’s all over now,” Although the thought had calmed her nerves, Miya couldn’t help but feel a bit paranoid about the man. After all, she had just raced past him and didn’t even stop to acknowledge him or fully look at him.

… What if he was still outside?

“Wait, no, no, no! I am not doing that stupid thing that all the people in the horror movies do and look outside to check! It’s only going to get me killed or I’m going to find some kind of crazy monster or that guy-” There was a slight pause as Miya realized just what she was thinking and let out a pained groan. “… What are you doing, Miya? Just it up and check!”

The unreasonable girl, for the second time that night, gathered her courage and strength and took a peek past the window curtains to the alley where she was sure she last saw the stranger.

Bright.

The once sleeping teenager was now awake as the shining rays of the sun shot through the somewhat sheer curtains which covered the window. His head was still pounding as he tried to recollect the events of the previous night, but, despite the throbbing, he felt unusually comfortable.

What-?

He jumped up to find that he was in a simple room with a warm sheet covering his body. Incredulous, the young man rubbed his eyes a bit in order to prove that the situation he was in was real.

Hadn’t he just been in some dinky back alley?

It was at that moment that the said boy started to think of the worst situation yet and a rush of adrenaline coursed through him.

Damn! They couldn’t have-! He threw the covers off his body as he scrambled upwards to open the door which would reveal his worst nightmare.

That is until…

“Oh, you’re awake!” He was met with the sight of a young girl with an apron tied around her small waist with a utensil in hand, cooking. She had doe-like eyes which shined in the morning light, though the dark circles under them were apparent. Her face was round with her features resembling that of a child’s, though he was sure she was probably around his age, considering she was old enough to be even living in a house by herself.

Wait…

“…” The confused teenager couldn’t bring himself to say anything as he continued to stare at the girl in front of him, causing the source of his confusion to squirm a bit under his gaze. “Um… are you hungry? I’m cooking breakfast right now…”

“Who… are you?” At this, the said girl frowned. “Um… I found you in the back alley near my apartment and… you were hurt, so I brought you in,”

So… is that what happened? Hearing her explanation, the boy was reminded of the wound he had obtained from his run and looked to his arm, only to find that it had been sloppily, but efficiently bandaged. The scene seemed to be plausible and, at this point, he could only accept her story. Kai let out a sigh of relief - it seemed that his initial thought was untrue.

“Um…” The sound of her rather high pitched voice brought her to his attention once again. “May I know your name?”

The off guard teenager immediately stiffened as he tried to come up with an alias so as to hide his real name. After pondering for a minute or so, he mumbled the first one that came to mind, “… Kai,”

“Kai?” Miya couldn’t help but frown a little at the brevity of his answer.

No family name? Just… Kai?

“Well, I’m almost finished making breakfast, Kai, so you can sit down at the table,” Kai’s feet didn’t budge as if some type of super glue had stuck his feet to the floor. Miya wasn’t too sure of how to approach the matter any further and insisted, one more time, “There’s a seat right there; I’ll bring over your portion,”

It seemed that the little assertion had done the trick and the frozen boy had now thawed, finally moving to situate himself at the table. A look of uncertainty was still plastered on his face as his head oscillated to scan the area. Miya prevented her lips from curving downward.

It seemed as though this Kai was judging her place.

Sure, it was small, but hey, she had done her best to make it feel homely at the least.

Miya plated the hot vegetable omelet she had just finished and brought it to the table along with a bowl of steaming plain congee. She placed the dishes gingerly onto the furniture and took a quick trip back and forth to get some condiments for the congee: green onions and pickled radish.

“This was all I could rustle up so I’m sorry if it’s not to your liking,”

There was still no answer from Kai and Miya couldn’t help but feel just a bit awkward with him.

Then again, what person would feel comfortable with a mute stranger in his or her house?

Nevertheless, the hospitable girl had finished cooking her portion as well and she sat herself across from the guest in her house with her own bowl of food.

…..

“Um…” He looks normal enough… there must be some way to break the ice…

“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Lee Miya,” Miya flashed a smile in an attempt to somehow lighten the atmosphere a little bit. It seemed that her efforts were in vain though, as proven by the expressionless façade that remained on Kai’s face. She sighed and simply lifted her spoon to scoop up some of the rice porridge. “If you don’t eat, the food will get cold,” In one last attempt to lighten the mood, she smiled and remarked, “and it won’t be good when it’s cold,”

…..

…..

Slurp.

Success!

Miya mentally gave herself a pat on the back once she saw the seemingly timid guest pick up his spoon to taste the congee. With her objective completed, the proud cook started to eat her own portion and the room was filled with the slight clanging of utensils.

“Thanks…” Kai mumbled as he wiped his mouth of any leftover food that could have possibly stuck itself onto his lips. The meal was surprisingly good and, being on the run for a few days, the food was more than welcomed in his empty stomach.

Miya shook her head and smiled. “No problem,”

She was nice – Kai had to give her that, but it was her very kindness that bugged him.

What girl in her right mind would let a complete stranger into her house… let the person spend the night… and then cook breakfast for him?

Paranoia got the best of the runaway as he started conjuring various possible theories as to who this girl was and what her plans might be.

Maybe she was a lonely girl who just wanted some company… but would keep him there forever now that she had finally gotten some.

Maybe she was some kind of psychopath that would lure her victims in and then, when the time was right, strike and take their lives.

Or worse…

Maybe she was a spy that was acting like a nice stranger… but would bring him back once she had gotten his trust.

There was no way in Hell he would let that happen.

Kai inwardly glared at the girl in front of him as she seemed unaware of his mental process, finishing up her bowl and enjoying the last bit of the omelet she had prepared.

Wait…

The food…

… What if the food he had just eaten was poisoned or drugged!?

Damn it all.

Abruptly standing up, the suspicious teenager strolled his way from the table to the door as he patted his jacket’s pockets to ensure that his wallet and money were still there.

He couldn’t stay any longer.

He couldn’t take any chances.

“Ah, wait!”

With a loud slam to the door, Kai made his way out of the apartment, leaving behind a confused, blinking girl.

…

What… just happened?

Ah! The first chapter done! ^o^

This is a bit random, but it does concern the story... format wise xD I'm pretty OCD when it comes to formatting and organizing and I'm not really an expert on Asianfanfics in terms of actually working the site (Of course there's browsing stories and all, but that's a different story!)

If anyone can tell me how to do that page break line function, I would greatly appreciate it! These are key in my "time skips" xD That's the small matter and now the more important one is how to upload a Word document onto Asianfanfics... if possible that is! It would just save me some trouble because my personality kicks in once again xD For some odd reason, when I just copy and paste there is an unecessary extra space~ D= Again, these are just some small matters and it would greatly help if someone could tell me how to work it! I spent the past fifteen minutes or so just deleting those extra spaces xD

I'm also looking for some beta readers out there or people to help with my story! Editing and revising is key!

Hehe, anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter!

Please feel free to leave a comment with any thoughts, suggestions, criticism, corrections etc. or... even subscribe if you'd like :D *whacked* ;_;

Thank you so much to all my readers~! <3