Krystal got up and dragged herself towards the bathroom. Time for school. Another day of torture in hell. The classroom was the cell, the classmates was the jail mates, and the teacher was the guard. 

She hated school. It wasn't like she listened to Ms. Song speak all day. All she heard was Blah Blah blah.

It was one ear -whoosh- and out the other.

The hours she could've spent sleeping, she had to sacrifice for somewhere she didn't want to go.

But for her parents, she wanted to at LEAST graduate. College? No clue. She wasn't sure if she would live that long. Maybe she would starve to death first.

Krystal was almost 18 years old. But did she even have a future? Money? A life she could take seriously? She didnt know and didn't want to think about it. Her parents were dead and about Onew, who knew? So what move was she suppose to make?

Even though she didn't have an alarm, her body was use to waking up everyday. That .

Yawning, she grasped the bathroom door handle and barged in. Except Taemin was already inside.

" WOAH!," he shouted.

Krystal saw his alarmed face and accidentally down.

" Ssorry!" She closed the door and returned back to her room burying her head, muffling her scream into the pillow.

Taemin left fast enough to see Krystal dash down the stairs.

" Yah!," he shouted once she slammed the front door behind her. " You didn't even wash up or eat breakfast!"

He stood there for a few minutes believing she would come back. When he accepted that she wasn't, Taemin just shrugged it at the food he cooked on the table that turned cold. What a shame. He woke up early just to make it for her.Taemin was embarrassed of course. But he really didnt take it to heart. It wasn't his first flash. Yes, that's right. It wasn't. His mistake during sophomore year.

But he was sure Krystal was going to take it hard.

His bookbag was heavy with useless textbooks. It was physically tiring to go up and down the stairs with it on his back. He never actually took notes.

Now that Krystal was going to be around him 24/7, did he still have to pretend? Taemin dropped the bag at his feet. He loosened his tie and untucked his dress shirt.

" This is more like it," he said and went to school empty-handed. Time for people to find out about Shinee's Taemin.

.              .            .          .            .
She held onto her bookbag straps and placed her hands under her armpit trying to generate heat. It was 10 more days to Christmas and she still wore a skirt to school. Excluding the ruined stockings she was unable to wear. It was below 30 degrees and a few inches of snow coated the ground.

As she breathed out, she remembered she forgot to brush her teeth. Walking into a nearby 711, she went to buy a pack of gum. Minty flavor of course. Picking the pack, she threw it on the counter wondering where the clerk was. Nobody was standing behind the cashier.

Suddenly, she heard the door chime and a rich seeming boy that looked a few years older than her walked in. He was wearing a pair of designer sunglasses, a black army jacket and boxer-showing jeans. He kept walking foward into the aisles ahead.

The cashier still wasn't back and the boy came back with a mango popsicle. For a second he halted in front of Krystal. Then smiled. Did he know her?

She bit her lip hoping from somwhere she knew him. He was kinda hot. She blushed and looked away. She didnt brush her teeth nor wash her face. Krystal heard a loud click and looked back at the man. He had sneakily opened the locked cabinet that held cigarettes. She saw him slip a a paper clip into his pocket along with three boxes.

She watched as he thrifted the cabinet and shut it behind him. He even restacked the boxes hiding his trace. Nobody stopped him. Not even the few people waiting in line behind her. Not even herself. She fidgeted as she saw him disapear.

Krystal just witnessed a crime. She didnt know what was more shocking. The fact that everybody knew 711 had cameras and he had the guts to steal or he was already a smoker at a young age.

What could she do? Why was she feeling so guilty for doing nothing? Abandoning her place in line, she dashed out the door ignoring the wave of wind that tried to slow her down. Luckily, the street was a one way so she caught up. She watched from afar as he stopped and turned into an alleyway. What was her exact plan? Well, she didnt have one. Krystal stupidly followed forth walked further down garbage cans. He was nowhere to be found. She lost him.

" Darn it," she coughed her chest. Then, she heard two feet scurry behind her. Next thing she knew, she was flat on the floor.  She bit her tongue as she fell face first.

" 아아!누구 야 ( ah ah! Who is it!)," she screamed horridly tasting the blood in . As Krystal to her back, she felt a leg on each side of her waist and pressure on her stomach.

The sun was directly above the person sitting on her, making his face blocked out. But she could tell it was the person from before.

" Help!" she yelled hoping somebody would hear her. Unfortunately, they were in a secluded alleyway.  The sun gleamed brighter as he leaned in closer her cut cheek. His touch was gentle, which made it scarier. " I'd be careful if I were you. You shouldn't follow strangers. I can be somebody thats threatening for all you know," he noted. " I saw you steal," she blurted. " You stole boxes of cigarettes!" 

Without any reply, he climbed off her.

" Aha! I got him good!," she smirked as she spat blood on the floor.  Did she have the upperhand against him? But she watched as he went through his pockets. He took it out of his pocket and flipped it open. Uh oh. She tried to make a run for it, but he made sure to trip her and pin her against the wall with his leg. He had the mango popsicle in his mouth too. How the hell did he do that?

His leg was pinning her knee and his elbow was beside her head. His breath was close and he reeked the mixture of smoke and cologne.

Her eyes widened as she felt something against her stomach. She was too frightend to look down. Krystal already guessed it was the knife. " I take it back when i said you were hot! I'm going to die of murder instead of starvation. Which one is worse?," she thought asking her parents in heaven. He lightened a cigarette and it in. The end of the stick glowed and faltered. 

Then, he opened his mouth, letting out a puff of smoke directly on her face. " Should I finish you off?," he said.

So far, he has offended her with a few things. One, putting her at knife point  and cutting her tongue when she hated pain, two, disrespecting her with the putrid smell, and three, asking her if she wanted to die right there right then.

She sputtered and tried to open to breathe. She wanted to talk back at him so badly. But the swollen tongue in didnt allow it. Krystal bit herself again and moaned in pain. Surprisingly, she felt the sharp object back away and something cold forced into .

The cold relieved her tongue. And it tasted like mango.

" Leave before I regret it and I'm pretty sure I will." She pulled the popsicle stick out of and watched him walk away. Strange boy. Why did he stuff something in my mouth that was in his already? Gross.

Krystal looked down and noticed it. What was that on the floor? Three boxes of cigarettes. And a drivers license. " ASSA!," she smiled. He mustve dropped it out of his pocket. She didnt want anymore young kids smoking or stealing on the street. Taking the boxes, she stuffed them into her bookbag. " I'll safetly discard them," she said. As she walked toward the school, she looked at the big clock. She was late. Like it mattered.

The gates were locked so she climbed over the wall. The day didnt start yet, but she already felt tired.

She glared at the man on the license card when she sat down in class.

" Choi Minho, This is not the end. If you want your card back you have to come find me."

Mango Popsicle KISS <3