Daehyun felt his mouth dry up completely. He wanted to speak, to say anything, to deny the stranger's accusations before he got himself beaten to a bloodied pulp, but he couldn't. The older man was so intimidating that all he could do was sit and tremble in fear. His heart jolted, shaking his entire chest, as Jepp took a step closer, brow quirked in amusement.

"Aye, kid, you deaf or somethin'?" he drawled, taking another step towards Daehyun's shuddering figure. "I said..." Another step. "Did you enjoy the show?"

The thug was standing right in front of him now, he could feel the huge shadow his well-built figure cast upon the hiding spot he chose. His eyes welled up with tears, but he shook them away angrily. He wasn't going to allow himself to lose his newfound freedom so quickly. Hell no.

"I-I didn't see anything," he choked out, not daring to meet the eyes of the man. Jepp let out a short and sharp laugh, making the blonde boy cringe at the sound. He was done for.

"So you're blind as well as deaf? Damn, kid."

Daehyun said nothing, awaiting and dreading what was to happen next. Jepp moved towards him, causing his pulse to race into overdrive. He was sure his heart was going to jump out of his chest and flee, just as he himself desperately wished he could. Everything came to a hault when the taller simply sat down next to him. He pulled a neon yellow lighter out of his pocket, as well as a packet of cigarettes. 

"Want one?" he asked, lazily. Daehyun shook his head. He'd never smoked before and he didn't plan on starting now.

"Suit yourself." He lit a cigarette and took a long drag, tilting his head back until it hit the wall and letting all the smoke out of his lungs. Daehyun watched as the grey cloud of smoke twirled around in the air and rose slowly, until it was gone.

"What's a kid like you doing out on streets like these, anyway?" he turned to look at Daehyun, eyebrow raised, surveying him curiously.

Daehyun paused hesitantly, before deciding that he may as well tell the truth. It'd make no difference, anyway. "I'm an orphan. It's my first day free from the clutches of the orphanage I was caged in..." he bit his lip, "as you can see, I didn't exactly...plan it out very well."

Jepp nodded and took another prolonged drag of his cigarette. "So you're lookin' for a place to go?"

"Yeah, I suppose. I'm pretty sure I'll end up starving before I find anywhere, though," he chuckled dryly, bitter about his circumstances. Where would he have gone anyway? He was familyless and friendless. 

The tattooed man nodded in acknowledgement, putting out his cigarette on the floor and crushing it with his boot. "I got a place for 'ya, if you'll come with me."

Daehyun blinked rapidly, completely silent for a while. That was the last thing he expected. Bruises? Yeah. Cuts? Yeah. To be knocked out in the alleyway 'till sunrise? Yeah, for sure. But a place to stay? No, no way. He thought about it for a moment, weighing his options. This was pretty much all he had going for him. If he didn't accept this offer, he'd only end up in worse situations, he was sure of it. It seemed like he'd wandered into the dangerous part of Seoul. The other man might be his only hope of a future. 

"Sure," he met the gaze of Jepp slowly, "I'll go."

A flicker of a smile appeared on Jepp's face. "Sweet. Then I'm probably gonna need your name?" He held out his hand for Daehyun to shake, much to the blonde's surprise. For a street thug, Jepp had quite good manners. He took the hand and shook it, grimacing at how firm Jepp's grip was on his freezing cold hand.

"Daehyun. Jung Daehyun," he murmured.

"Jepp Blackman," he smirked cheekily, "remember it, because I'm your boss from now on."

-----------------

Daehyun's legs were incredibly tired by the time he and Jepp approached a small pathway leading to an underground staircase. It was hidden away from the busy roads of the city, tucked cosily in between two gigantic walls of the neighboring buildings. An iron gate blocked access to anybody without a key. It looked safer than what Daehyun had been expecting, although he hadn't really had any clear ideas of where they were going, he just followed Jepp robotically, placing all his trust in this not being a death trap. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief when Jepp locked the gate behind them. It felt almost...comforting, here. Safe. 

Jepp stopped to look back at Daehyun and grin. The shorter boy noticed that his gums showed when he smiled, and it almost made him want to laugh. A feared gangster with such a cute smile. How ridiculous.

"This," Jepp lifted his arms in the air and gestured to the area around him, "will be your home from now on."

He took in Daehyun's impressed reaction before heading towards the stone staircase that led underground. Daehyun followed, swallowing nervously. He had no idea what awaited him. Truthfully, he had a fear of guns. He remembered his roommate constantly watching action and horror films around Daehyun to get under his skin and upset him. It was something about the noise they made, signalling a serious injury or the end of a life. He was sure Jepp and whoever else was living with him would carry guns. They were gangsters, it was common sense.

Their footsteps echoed as they made their way downwards, Jepp's boots striking heavily down on each step as he reached it. 

It was dark, there were no lights or torches to give them a clear idea of when the staircase ended, and Daehyun almost tripped up over his own feet twice. He heard Jepp chuckle amusedly at his stumbling and furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance. Well, at least the thug had a sense of humor, he supposed.

"We're here," Jepp's deep voice boomed, bouncing off of the walls, probably audible to anybody who was on the top step. He fumbled forwards to reach for a doorknob, cursing when he couldn't find it. "Goddamnit, I'm always telling Himchan to put lights down here," he mumbled angrily, "you'd think he'd listen to me for once, since I pay for the place, but no!"

He made a sound of victory as he gripped the doorknob finally, opening the door. Daehyun cringed as the door scraped across the ground, creating a horrible sound that went right through him. His discomfort was quickly forgotten though, as he and Jepp stepped through the doorway into the light, and Daehyun saw his new home for the first time.

-----------------

It was large, larger than he'd thought it would be, and very spacious. There were at least six armchairs scattered about, a TV set in the corner, two backrooms and a large chandelier. It was rather fancy looking for a gang's hideout. In the center of the room was a gigantic table, covered in maps of all different kinds, scraps of paper with hastily written notes on them, and...a boy.

Yeah, he'd seen it right the first time. There was a boy sitting on top of the table, crouched as though he was about to leap into the air like a frog. His legs were long, and Daehyun couldn't help but wonder whether sitting like that was even comfortable for him. His hair was jet black, kept out of his eyes with a similarly coloured bandana. He looked young, younger than himself, he was baby-faced, even. A baby-faced gangster and a gangster with a gummy smile. What kind of gang was this, anyway?

The boy dropped the paper he was looking at when he noticed there was another person standing behind Jepp.

"Woah, woah, woah!" he jumped off of the table, making the ground shake. Daehyun almost gulped at how tall he was. He was practically a giant! "Jepp in the house!" He turned to Daehyun, smiling widely showing a neat little row of teeth. He wasn't intimidating at all. He looked cuddly, in all honesty.

"And you are?" He walked around in circles around Daehyun, who spluttered like a fish out of water. 

"Lay off the newbie, Zelo," Jepp sent a smirk in Daehyun's direction and silently the blonde thanked him for getting the giraffe mutant off of his case.

"He's Daehyun, and he'll be with us from now on."

Zelo whistled loudly, patting him on the back so hard that Daehyun almost fell over. "Daehyun! Welcome to the family, bro. You any good at poker?"

Jepp slapped Zelo on the back of the head, causing the youngest boy to wail in pain and pretend to cry. He scratched the back of his head and sent a glare at his boss. "Ow, damnit. I was just wondering! Ain't no harm in wondering, right, Daehyun?"

"I-I guess not."

Zelo stuck his tongue out at Jepp, who wasn't amused by the boy's immature behavior.

"Quit it, Ze. He has no experience whatsoever, he's gonna need a hell of a lot of training before he can sit around with you and Youngjae playing poker."

"Aww, . Playing against Youngjae is so boring! He's too smart! He wins every time."

Daehyun let his thoughts wander while Zelo and Jepp stood there bickering and chatting between themselves. He wondered why the one called Youngjae had ended up in a street gang if he was as smart as Zelo seemed to think he was. The only bit he caught was that Youngjae and Himchan were robbing a nearby supermarket for dinner, and Jongup was prowling around the black market for anything useful.

"Yo, Daehyun?"

He snapped out of his thoughts at the call of his name, paying attention again. Zelo had collapsed onto one of the armchairs, a game console in his hand. Jepp was pointing at one of the papers on the table.

"We've gotta start somewhere. Come take a look at this."

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A/N; Heeeere's Zelo! He's going to be the funnest character to write, I'm pretty sure. ^u^ Sorry if this chapter isn't so good ^^; The action will start soon, I promise! Get ready to meet the others, too. ~