The sound of the alarm clock made me groan, as I groggily my bed. A sudden crash made me jump, and my eyes snapped open to see Taemin standing next to the bed, his eyes wide and in his hands the lance.

The lance, that was almost about to chop off my nose.

I let out a massive yelp of surprise, rolling a little into the duvets before scrabbling to sit up, and finally unceremoniously falling onto the ground. Rubbing the back of my head that hit the wooden bed frame, I looked up fearfully. That was when I realized the boy wasn’t being aggressive to me.

Nah, he’d just been surprised by the alarm clock. And the poor thing had now paid its price for waking our resident time-traveler as it lay on the ground in bits and pieces, metal and springs scattered on the ground as my clock was now a few neatly chopped up cubes. I silently mourned my poor clock; though I had to admit I had probably broken its insides quite a few times as well, swiping it off the counter myself when I was having terrible mornings, so perhaps its death was due soon anyway.

I took a deep breath, calming myself down and smiling up at the killing machine.

“Taemin, did you just murder my alarm clock?”

He blinked, his stance relaxing as he slowly realized what he had done. Tentatively, he crouched forward, and poked at the bits of metal, similar to when he seemed to first discover the mattress. I sighed, before gathering up the pieces, his eyes still trailed on the remnants in some form of curiosity, “An alarm clock is something that wakes us up every day at a set time. It wouldn’t attack anyone, don’t worry. They just get very noisy.”

I deftly flung the remnants of my poor clock into the nearest bin without much remorse, before going to wash up. I was slightly relieved I had some extra supplies from the last time I went out to the store; heck, there was no way I was sharing toothbrushes and towels with Taemin. I didn’t mind beds, but otherwise that was just ridiculous.

While Taemin was showering I decided to make some breakfast, tossing a few pancakes into the air as I sank into thought, my eyes skimming over my rather empty kitchen. Empty, due to a resident traveler having such a massive appetite.

And I just got back from the store yesterday. Dang.

I rubbed my temples, not exactly enthusiastic to return to the very sunny outside world. After the rain, the sun was scorching hot and I could almost feel the searing heat of the pavement just by staring at it. Probably enough to fry eggs. I silently moaned my unwillingness to go out, but nevertheless pushed myself to gather my keys and wallet I had left on the counter, since I expected we’d be going really soon.

I almost didn’t notice when Taemin had tumbled out, and sat at the kitchen counter. He had lodged a fork into his mouth, chewing it while he propped his chin on his hand, staring up at me as if studying a lab rat.

Chuckling softly, I picked up a plate and popped the breakfast on, before offering him the food, “Here, some…”

I gaped when he pulled the fork out. It was completely in a warped shape, somehow its head being twisted into akin to that of a knot, and numerous teeth marks embedded into the metal. I stared at it for a moment, before staring back at Taemin.

He blinked, before opening his mouth. I gulped when I realized his teeth were enhanced with some kind of metal; to be honest, they looked pretty darn sharp. Some chips of the metal from the fork was left in his mouth, as he had apparently used it as his chew toy.

“Don’t assassinate all my silverware, got it?” I sighed, rubbing my temples again. He nodded silently, before taking his plate and practically finishing all three pancakes with one swipe of his tongue. I swear, I could see his mouth enlarge slightly for a moment before taking in the food. I finished mine much more slowly, fast for human pace, but normal compared to him at least, I’d say.

“We’re going to have to go out and get some supplies. Namely a new clock, some more forks and food.” I gave Taemin a pointed look, who simply cocked his head to one side, before calmly popping the warped fork into his mouth like some type of lollipop. I flinched when I heard a resounding crunch.

“…and let’s add a new chew toy in the list. I think we need something stronger for you if you’re going to bite stuff. And I’d hate to have bite marks on my table.” I angled my eyes towards my wooden table. Hard, yes, but I didn’t want to know the extent of how powerful Taemin’s teeth were.

“I wonder how your digestive system survives that kind of metal ware,” I mumbled, while he glanced at the tiny piece of handle, and finally finishing it off with a satisfying crunch that made me wince.

Grabbing my rucksack and stuff, I soon led the killing machine out under the bright sun. He seemed unaffected by the insufferable heat, while I was pretty much sweating buckets the moment I stepped out. I began to introduce the world to him; he seemed a bit tense when he was out the door. Besides, I had told him to leave his weapons behind. I didn’t want to capture unnecessary attention by taking a canon and a huge lance out in public.

I was glad the boy had managed to see that the toy guns weren’t real, and he wasn’t about to return fire to a couple of kids who thought it would be fun to aim water jets at innocent passerby. Though I did quickly give a wide berth to kids afterwards; I wasn’t exactly all that familiar with Taemin, so with his unpredictable reactions I decided it was better to be safe than sorry.

The relief that washed over me was overwhelming as we finally entered the air-conditioned heaven I called the mall. My mouth literally watered at the sight of ice-cream, but I quickly reminded myself of the tasks at hand, and shook myself out of stupor.

“We should go choose some new stuff for you first. Since we aren’t exactly sure how long you’re staying, and in my guess it’s going to be a while,” I commented drily, while Taemin agreed with a blank look.

As we walked on, I found myself slowing down, my footsteps lax as I counted them, watching my feet carefully placed on every tile. Ahead of me were Taemin’s small feet, looking alarmingly small as he struggled to walk in the smallest pair of sandals I could find in the house; they were much too loose and were almost flung off even if he tried to even fast walk. Watching his waddling steps and blank face, I couldn’t help but have a sad smile.

What had compelled me to take him in so easily?

I knew that, and my friends had told me often, I was too kind for my own good. I was always the first to forgive and forget, the first to hold out a hand to others. The one who knew no hate, no sorrow.

Seeing this…child in need, that was the first step that made me believe it was the right decision to let him stay. But that wasn’t all.

Not many people would be crazy enough to take in a killing machine, but right at the moment I saw him, I noticed the life Taemin must’ve been through. There may not have been any details he had told me, but judging from his state, I could derive a few things. One, the world in the future was under war, and seeing from his creation as well as weapons, it wasn’t an easy one. Two, the war was probably harsh and grueling, since he was pretty much drenched in blood. And three, life must’ve been hard, with his lack of self-preservation and relaxation.

Most importantly, would be of his lack of childhood.

It was that second I saw his eyes, that I saw the innocence of a child, even if so little. He was created, but had never seen life as it is, simply killing and going through war daily. He didn’t know how it felt to sleep on a bed, and dream the night away without a thing to worry about. He’d never walked side by side with his friends after school, for a walk in the nearest streets to scout out newest trends. There was never a chance for him to pick up Lego blocks, and build the castle he would’ve loved to live in.

His childhood was stolen, right from the start, and he never got the chance to experience it.

Hints of curiosity shone through his eyes as he studied the windows that showed colorful train sets, tiny battery-powered vehicles chugging through intricate and realistic tracks, with plastic trees and tiny station conductors standing at the ready. It was quickly replaced with a blank look, and I frowned slightly.

It wasn’t just his childhood, he didn’t seem to have the concept of emotions either.

Then I noted; that was exactly the reason why he would be such a successful killing machine. To kill without emotion, it would be a huge advantage, rarely though, it could be a flaw.

“Taemin,” I mumbled, breaking my train of melancholy thoughts, pushing a smile on my face as I directed my mind somewhere else. I refused to be so depressed at such early hours of a day.

He turned his head in my direction, as I began to pull him through the furniture section, and show him some choices he could make for his room. Though mostly it ended up with me having to influence his decisions or choose for him, since he didn’t seem to quite understand why it mattered whether the bedsheets were purple or white.

“It just makes you happy every time you come back to sleep. Choose something that makes you feel relaxed and calm for your rest,” I sighed, while he finally, cautiously picked up a grey-striped one with careful fingers. I smiled in slight triumph, happy that he did have some type of preference at least.

Yes, he was indeed, but a child. One that did not understand emotions. His inquisitive instincts seemed to baffle himself, as he was drawn to colorful things and boisterous noises. I chuckled slightly as his eyes seemed to widen ever so slightly at the sight of ice cream.

“Take your pick,” I smiled, placing a hand on his head. He stared at the rainbow colored treats with the greed of a 5-year-old; probably having thoughts of just stealing every flavor and getting away with it.

…Okay, maybe not every flavor. That tofu-flavored ice-cream was just nasty.

He was still pondering when a loud voice made me straighten up in surprise, “Minho!”

Taemin instantly tensed, whipping around with inhuman speed and pushing me behind him. I didn’t see what his face looked like, but judging from Jonghyun’s face, it wasn’t pretty.

A short, platinum blonde-haired boy stood in front of said ferocious teen, eyes widened and stature frozen. I noticed how Jonghyun’s eyes seemed to flash in different emotions I couldn’t read; it was definitely something rare I’d see on his face.

Jonghyun was a crazy, loyal and bat insane boy who was, quite unfortunately, my best friend. His large brown eyes resembled a puppy, as I so often about. He never seemed to stop moving, his energy filled body bouncing from one activity to the next.

It shocked me quite brilliantly when he had such an unreadable expression on his face. This shock, however, slowly morphed into confusion and full-blown horror. Jonghyun’s normally fun-loving, smiling face warped into poison, his lip curling, his teeth bared so disturbingly similar to Taemin’s. His stance lowered slightly, his arms tense as if ready to tackle Taemin.

I noted Taemin’s equal footing that was poised as if to jump any moment and avoid said incoming tackle. When Jonghyun spoke, it was so filled with venom, loathing and hatred that I couldn’t believe it came from the mouth of my best friend. His eyes that flamed, blazing with unsaid words as he snarled at Taemin.

“You.”