The man looked at the boy and smiled.  "Thank you, but you're closing up right?  I don't want to hold you back," said the man, declining the offer.  "My car's just parked down the street.  It's only a short walk.  Hopefully the rain will ease soon."

The boy pouted a little.  "But the baby..."

The man smiled looking at the baby in his arms.  "He's just hungry.  I forgot his bottle at home."

The boy looked at the crying child and contemplated for a moment, before he walked back inside the shop without a word.

The man continued to wait, hoping for the rain to stop.  A short while later, the boy came back out and handed him an umbrella.  The man was surprised by the boy's kind gesture.

"You can use this," said the boy.  "If you don't hurry home, the baby will get hungry."

"Won't you need it?" asked the man.

"It's fine," assured the boy.  "I have another one."

The man smiled and accepted the umbrella.  "Thank you."


The next day, the boy headed off to school while Sungyeol worked at the shop.  He had on many occasions suggested to Sungyeol that he would quit school but Sungyeol would not allow it, insisting that it was important he completed school if he wanted to get anywhere in life.

When school finally ended, the boy rushed through the streets to get to the shop to help out.  To decided to take a short cut and turned into an alley.  He was startled when he saw a group of rough looking youths loitering about in the small alley.  Among them was a pretty looking boy about his age.  The pretty boy stood out from the others and didn't look like the belonged with the group.  He avoided eye contact and tried to walk past them, until one of them called out to him.

"Hey, mind helping us out?" the leader of the group asked.

Before the boy could respond, he felt an arm drape over his shoulder.  He found himself surrounded.

"What's wrong?" the leader asked when the boy remained quiet.  "Are you a mute or something?"

The pretty boy laughed as he stood by and watched.  One of the youths snatched the boy's school bag, while another searched his pockets.  When he resisted, he felt one of their fists colliding with the side of his face.  He was knocked off balance and fell to the ground.  He used his arms to break his face, preventing his face from impacting with the ground.  Before he had a chance to recollect himself, he was pulled up by the collar of his shirt.  When he saw another fist heading straight for him, he closed his eyes and waited for he impact.

"Hey!  What are you boys doing?" a voice called out.

The group of youths looked at the intruder and was startled when they recognised who it was.  They seemed afraid of the man and wanted to avoid him.  They released the boy and fled the scene just as the man approached their way.  

The boy reached out to pick up his bag from the ground but a sharp pain in his arm had him wincing.  The man noticed the boy grasping his arm so he bent down and picked up the school bag.

"Are you alright?" the man asked, handing the bag to the boy.

The boy raised his head to look at the man and was caught by surprise when he recognised him.  There was a hint of recognition from the man when he saw the boy's face.

"You're from the shop," said the man, remembering the face of the boy who had given him his umbrella last night.  He frowned when he saw the bruise on the side of the boy's face.  "They hurt you," he stated.

The boy was startled when the man reached out a hand and touched the side of his face, where the bruise had formed.  The man's touch was gentle but the boy felt his heart racing.  He didn't understand why he was feeling this way.  He was shocked when the man held his hand and pulled up his sleeve, revealing a large bruise on his arm.

"Those punks," said the man when he saw the boy's arm.  "We should get this looked at and make sure it's not broken."

The boy shook his head and pulled his sleeve down.  "It's okay," he said.  "I'm fine.  Sungyeol will get worried if I don't go."  

The boy grabbed his bag and hurried out of the alley, unaware that the group of youths were watching him from a distance.

"That damn cop!" cursed the leader.  "Always getting in the way.  Maybe we should get some guys and mess him up."

The pretty boy smirked.  "I have a better idea."