One week, it has been one week since I’ve moved into this apartment. I can count the number of times I’ve left the premises of my small abode. On one hand. I need some fresh air, and fast.

            Jae Rin grabbed her wallet, stuffed it into the back pocket of her pants, and left her apartment. Even if it was just the hallway outside, somehow, the air seemed fresher than it had been inside. Maybe it was the circulated, air conditioned air she had been breathing, but suddenly, she felt the urge to run down the hallway screaming at the top of her lungs. She wanted to run outside and roll down a grassy hill, jump into a pile of leaves, do something extremely radical. Composing herself, she locked her apartment and headed down the hall, only allowing herself to go as far as skipping to release her pent up energy.

            Outside, the sun shone brightly, reminding her of the minimal days she had spent in San Diego. Oh, how I would kill to be on a beach right now. She wandered down the unfamiliar streets, soaking in the vibrant coloured stalls lining the sidewalks as she entered a flea market. Little, elderly ladies waved her over, trying to sell her some organic fruit and socks.

            A distant memory flashed through her mind and she recalled seeing these types of stalls as a child. Her mother had always taken her out to these markets on the weekends, showing her the best places to get all the necessities for life.

            “There’s no need to go to a grocery store. All you need can be found in these sorts of markets at a fraction of the retail prices,” she recalled the words her mother had told her often. A bittersweet smile tugged at her lips. I wonder what happened after I left you guys...Maybe I should drop by to see if you’re both still there, waiting for my return like you had said you would...

--

            “I’m sorry, we moved in a couple of years ago. The husband and wife who sold us the house seemed to have been in a rush. We haven’t contacted them since the papers were signed and the house was turned over to us.”

            “Did they mention a daughter or leave anything behind? A letter, perhaps?” Jae Rin asked, her last bit of hope dissipating with the single word that left the man’s lips.

            “No.”

            Dazed, Jae Rin numbly bowed to the couple, staggered down the front steps, and climbed into the taxi. Her body trembled in shock, yet anger coursed through her veins. They had left her. After promising to wait for her return, they fled, abandoning her like she had abandoned them.

            I had my reasons though. It wasn’t like I had the choice of staying. Bitterly, she tossed some money to the cab driver and got out of the car. The apartment building loomed above her, yet she didn’t want to head in. The sudden loss of her childhood home, the house her parents vowed to wait for her in, irritated her. Discovering her parents’ prompt departure after she had left angered her, fueling the detest she had against the thing that was chasing her. It’s all your fault, whatever you are. I hate running. I hate feeling weak. I hate losing everything I loved in life. I hate you...

            She felt sick knowing that her home would now be the tiny, rented apartment. Yeah, she had a roof over her head, but it wasn’t her roof, it wasn’t the roof she had been waiting to return to. And what made it worse was that she now had to live under this roof alone.

            Alone. She hated the word, she hated the feeling. Having been on the run on her own for so long, she missed human interaction. She missed having some company and knowing that they were there to stay, that they weren't just temporary companionship.

            Unconsciously, she had wandered down the street. Her surroundings were unfamiliar, and a sense of panic rose. There was not one person around to help her out. She heard some rustling and turned around. A man flew by before she could call out for help. Now, she was truly alone.

            Okay, I can handle this. Just take some deep breaths and clear your mind, Jae Rin. Nothing to panic about. She opened her eyes and scanned the vicinity. Up ahead, she spotted a small cafe. Bingo.

--

            “Hello, and welcome to The Haven Cafe, where a drink feels like a cup at home.” A blue haired boy greeted her with a bow. She bit the inside of her cheek to refrain from snapping at the innocent worker. Feels like home? Why must he remind me? Stop it, Jae Rin, he doesn’t know anything. Stay calm.

             “Hi. I just moved into the neighbourhood and got lost. Could you possibly help me with directions?”

            “Sure! I’ll see what I can do.” The wide grin he had on since she entered the store never left his face. She found herself smiling at him in return. Contagious...She shook her head and walked over to the counter where he stood waiting for her. “So, where would you like to go, Miss...?” he waited for her response.

            “Jae Rin. Jung Jae Rin.”

            “Ah, Jae Rin-sshi. My name is Dongwoo.”

            “Uh...hi...”

            The silence that proceeded was awkward beyond belief. There she stood, twiddling her thumbs while glancing around trying to look at anything other than Dongwoo. On the other hand, he didn’t seem to sense her discomfort and continued staring at her, smiling his goofy smile.

            “Um, so, directions. Could you help me find the Lotus Vitality apartment building?”

            “OH, Right! Let me draw up a map for you.” He grabbed a napkin from under the counter and a pen from his apron. “Lotus Vitality...uptown...hmm...” he mumbled a few random words, squinting at the page in concentration. After scribbling a few words and sketching out some lines, he slid the napkin over to her. “It’s not that far from here. All you have to do is head down this street, take a left at the intersection, follow the bend and walk two blocks down. If you hit a roundabout, then you’ve taken a wrong turn at some point, most likely here,” he pointed to the junction, “so make sure you take a left, okay?”

            “Thanks, Dongwoo-sshi.” She pulled out her wallet and carefully tucked it into the bill slot. “Since I’m already here, I might as well get a drink,” she murmured. Skimming over the menu board and spotted her all time favourite drink, iced double shot espresso. “May I please get an iced double shot espresso, Dongwoo-sshi?”

            “Wow, strong drink for a small girl like you.” He chuckled at her reflexive growl of annoyance. “For here or to go?”

            “I’ll take it for here.”

            “Okay! Why don’t you take a seat and I’ll bring it over for you?”

            Jae Rin bowed and paid for her drink before scanning the store for a good spot. The place was practically a ghost town with empty seats and spotless tables. Where is everybody? she thought, glancing down at her watch. The little hands were pointing at 11:28. No wonder. He must think I’m crazy for taking a double shot at this time. But, it’s the only thing I like to drink...

            His voice broke her out of her thoughts.

            “An iced double shot espresso for the little lady.”

            “Little?” she snarled, instinctively balling up her fists.

            “I-I didn’t mean it that way! It’s not because you’re short or anything. I was just, I call everybody that. Not to guys though! Just to girls, women. Aish.” He hit his head in frustration and continued to blather. She couldn’t help but giggle at his flustered state.

            “It’s okay. I understand. It’s my fault for assuming you were talking about my height...It’s my Catch-22, y’know?”

           “Ah, height insecurities. I know how you feel,” he groaned, taking a seat at her table. “Out of all my buddies, I’m the shortest, too.” He laughed heartily and she joined him.

            Somehow, talking to this guy who never seemed to stop smiling, she momentarily forgot her misfortunes and worries. Emotions she never thought she’d be able to experience ever again, feelings she had been locking away for the past five years, were brought to life in just 15 minutes by a boy she hardly knew. I guess optimism is contagious, if exposed to in the right amount and intensity.

            “Well, it seems as if I’m keeping you from your work. It was nice talking to you, Dongwoo-sshi.”

            “Eh, there aren’t any customers around, so I can sit and chat.” He motioned to the empty tables and counter.

            “What would your boss say if he knew you were slacking? Aren’t you scared he might scold you?” she smirked.

            “Well, it would be weird if I scolded myself now, wouldn’t it?” he grinned at her.

            “Oh, so you’re the boss?”

            “Yup. I opened the store a couple of years ago. Wanted to try something new, get somewhere in life. So I found this place by chance and started The Haven.”

            “I didn’t ask for a life story, but thanks for the little spiel.”

            “You’re a sarcastic one, aren’t you?”

            “Me, sarcastic? Now what made you think that?” she feigned shock.

            “Ha ha, funny,” Dongwoo frowned, or, tried to. He couldn’t keep a straight face and chuckled. “But seriously though, you’re quite the jokester.”

            “I’ll take that as a compliment.” She pretended to catch his comment and tucked it into her pocket with a wink, inducing laughter between the two. “Anyway, it’s getting late. Can’t risk wandering around in the dark ‘cause, y’know, little ladies get targeted by creepy serial killers.”

            “You’re never going to let me forget that, aren’t you?”

            “Yup. Thanks for the drink, Dongwoo-sshi.”

            “No problem. Feel free to visit! It gets boring around here and a wisecrack like you makes my job that much more interesting.” He held out a hand for a shake and she raised an eyebrow at him. “What? Would you rather we hug?”

            “Uh, no thanks. I’ll take the hand.”

--

            Weeks passed and Jae Rin found herself frequenting The Haven more than she thought she would. Almost every day, in fact. One would think that Dongwoo would get annoyed, but the boy would welcome her with a smile on his face and loaded with funny stories of customers he had encountered that day.

            It was the first day of the month which marked exactly four weeks since she had landed in Seoul. Like usual, she was on her way to the cafe when she got a text.

            ($10,000 USD was deposited into your account by UNKNOWN.)

            As usual, right on time. She deleted the messaged and stuffed her phone into her pocket with a frown. The Haven came into view and she pulled open the door. The familiar wind chimes greeted her as she walked through the door. However, a strange sign in the window had her stopping mid step to walk back outside.

            [NOW HIRING. PT/FT POSITIONS AVAILBLE]

            How now? When was this sign put up? She stalked back into the store and nearly bumped into a waiting customer. The store, for once, was packed. What the heck...? She attempted to scan above the heads in front of her, but failed miserably. So, she did what all short people were skilled, and built, to do.

            “Hey! Watch it!”

            “Don’t cut the line!”

            “Ouch! That’s my foot!”

            “Sorry!” she called back to the stranger and continued slipping through the bodies. I made it, she silently cheered and looked over the counter. Dongwoo was frantically running from one machine to another, pushing buttons and fiddling with random doohickeys all while taking customers’ orders. “Need a hand?” He turned at the sound of her voice and she swore she could see the life about to burst out of him.

            “YES, PLEASE. Take these drinks to tables 3, 8, 16, and 24. Wash your hands and wear an apron.” He tossed her the smock and stared with wide eyes as it slowly levitated and tied itself tightly to her waist. “You’re a mutant too?”

            “Too?” she asked.

            “I’ll show you later. Now get these drinks out.”

--

            “Ah, I feel sore, but at the same time, satisfied.” Dongwoo grinned, eyes closed in rest. He had locked up the store and now the both of them were sprawled out on the couches. Jae Rin looked up from the sofa and grimaced.

            “Satisfied? What are you, a masochist? Pain . End of discussion.” She groaned with every movement. Muscles she hadn’t thought existed felt sore and she hated it. Stop being a pansy. You only ran tables.

            Suddenly, she sat up, hissing in pain. Her muscles screaming with displeasure as she pushed herself upright.

            “Dongwoo-sshi. Earlier, you had asked if I was a mutant too.”

            “Oh, that’s right! So you really are a mutant?”

            “Was the floating, self tying apron not enough for you?” She rolled her eyes and pointed at the cloth. “But, yes, I’m a mutant.”

            “Your specialty?”

            “I’m an Um—a-a Telekinetic. Yeah.” She let out a breath of relief when he didn’t catch her hiccup and just nodded.

           “Well, Jae Rin-sshi, prepared to be amazed.” He jumped up from his seat and stretched out his arms and neck, getting in a few quick jumps before he disappeared and was replaced by a giant blue tiger.

            Jae Rin’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as the tiger roared at her and then quickly changed into a blue pig. Her jaw dropped as the pig morphed into a giant blue bear, then again into a blue bird. Bird Dongwoo flitted around and landed on her shoulder. She impulsively reached up and swatted at the disturbance on her shoulder. He flew off and landed on the table before shifting back into his human form.

            “That, I have to admit, was pretty impressive.” She clapped in awe. “So you’re a shape shifter.”

            “Animal Shape Shifting, to be exact.”

            “Ah, my bad. What’s with the blue though?” She recalled the blue fur and feathers.

            “Side effect. The animals take the same colour of my current hair dye during a metamorphose. I had red at one point. Scared the living daylights out of my friends whenever I shifted. They always thought I was bleeding. You know what? This is great news! My buddies I’ve been telling you about, they’re all mutants as well. You should meet them one day!” He began jumping up and down with excitement. And to think, he’s older than I am.

             “Uh, sure. Just name a day and I’ll be there.”

            “How about in two weeks? We’re celebrating one of their birthdays. You should come.” She shifted uncomfortably under his piercing gaze, despite it being paired with his infamous smile.

            “Wouldn’t that be a bit awkward ‘cause, y’know, we’ve never met? Crashing his birthday would be a great start to this wonderful friendship I foresee in our future.”

            “Funny. Nah, it’s cool! I can tell you’ll get along fine with all of them. So what do you say? You in?” He turned into a puppy and stared at her with innocent eyes. She laughed at his cheeky trick and couldn’t help but reach out and pat his head.

            “Okay. You win. I’ll go. Just don’t expect us to get along or anything.”

            “Hey, Debbie-downer, lighten up. They’ll love you. Anyway, let’s close up the store. We have an early start tomorrow.” He went around and started flipping up the chairs. Jae Rin stayed seated, clearing her ears in case she heard him wrong.

            “Excuse me, but did you say 'we'?”

            “Yeah, I assume you want a job since you helped out all afternoon.”

            “Well, yeah, I guess. But what about interviews, resumes, the whole shebang?”

            “I trust you’ll do fine. Besides, you need the money, right? After all, you did just move here.”

            She opened to say no, but then closed it quickly. Technically, no, she didn’t need the money, she had plenty of it. Where it came from? She had no clue, but every month a large sum would be deposited into her account. I have all this free time. Why sit around and do nothing? Also, the job is practically being served to me on a silver platter. Eh, might as well.

            “I’ll take the job only if you need me to.”

            “Well, the only other employee here won’t be back anytime soon, so I need all the help I can get.”

            “Okay then. I guess I’ll do it.” With a flick of wrist, all the chairs in the store upturned and settled down onto the tabletops.

            “Well, that was easy.” Dongwoo chuckled as she gave him a wink.

            “Guess you won’t need that too, huh?” She pointed at the hiring sign and pulled it off the window with her powers, and set it on the front counter.

            “Stop showing off and mop up, will you?”

            “Yes, Boss.”

Fun stuff. Hopefully this makes up for the short chapters. Random note, looking at the title bugs me since it's spelled out as Epicenter and not Epicentre....huh....makes me double take each time. ANYWHO, Dongwoo the Shape Shifter has been introduced! *fanfare* There's a reason why I chose to make him a shape shifter. Also, he's so spunky and awesome in reality, it just sort of fits. BTW, the characters tagged have nothing to do with main characters and such...I just hit the tag limit and couldn't add the other boys T^T *crying*

COMMENT REPLIES

@ kpop_fan_1998: yay~ new chapter! Thanks for reading~!
@ JuzzMee91: hahaha, yup. Jae Rin is Black Mist. Who is it? Who is it~~~~?! kekeke

See you in the next Chapter!

-greenninjapanda GNP-