Sweat trickles down his forehead and seeps into the sand below. The sun shines mercilessly onto his hunched figure, showing no signs of relenting. Sand and gravel crunch underneath his boots as he heaves two heavy sacks of animal pellets. He swipes at the sweat threatening to enter his eyes while balancing the sacks precariously on his shoulder.

Time to feed those damned animals.

He rips open the sack with his pocketknife and dumps the pellets into the trays. Grunts and squeals rings out loudly as the pigs hungrily stuff their faces into the tray, scattering the pellets everywhere.

He continues down the row of screaming four-legged beasts, the putrid smell and the deafening noises earned them a place on his most hated list. He pours the last of the pellets into the trays and quickly stomps away, before his head really explodes.

He had been feeding them nearly his whole life but he still hated the smell and noise, just as much as he did when he first fed them.

He quietly enters the shed, spotting a familiar worn out figure. "Dad, you can go rest now." He gently coaxes the cleaver out from his father's trembling hands and guides him over to their pathetic little wooden house. He helps him to sit on the straw mattress covering the dirty cement ground. "I'm sorry for having to-" he gets cut off by a strong onslaught of hacking coughs. "I'm sorry Youngjae." Youngjae just shakes his head and places a hand behind his head, slowly letting it down to rest on the bundled up cloth.

He was apologizing every day - "sorry" held no meaning now.

It was just like a routine.

"Just leave the rest to me." Youngjae helps him get into a comfortable position, watching the haggard figure cross his bony arms over his protruding ribs.

His father was never healthy. Not when all he could eat was mainly bread and rice.

Youngjae clenches his hands into tight fists; his blunt nails digging into his palms. They all had nothing much to eat and you just slowly disintegrated into skin and bones as you got older. He was tanned and fit from working under the sun but you could still tell he was malnourished from his skinny frame.

He sighs and returns to the wooden shed to continue the work from where his father left off.

He brings up the clever and lets it come down hard onto the chicken bones. He separates the fats and bones with skill and precision, after all it was a daily routine for him. A daily routine, to hate on the Lynx.

Suddenly remembering something, Youngjae wipes his bloody hands on the front of his apron and goes off to look for his younger brother.

"HyukJae! Come in!" He bellows out from the shed's door, dinner was going to be served soon.

, I’d better hurry up.

He swiftly debones the remaining headless chickens and dumps them into a basket. Just in time for a deafening knock on the door of the house. He dashes over to the house with the basket in his hands.

The thing creating the noise, swivels in his direction and scans the items in the basket before seizing it. It shoves a tied up cloth bundle onto Youngjae's hands before moving off to another house. Soundlessly drifting away despite having a body of nuts and bolts.

The light bundle in his hands clearly didn't contain enough food for the three of them. But they didn't have a choice; eat any of the animals they reared, and risk getting tortured. Youngjae gingerly places the bundle in the middle of the dining table which looked way too deformed to be one. He unravels the cloth to reveal pieces of bread and small meat pieces, obviously the leftovers from the buffet the Lynx had every day. HyukJae comes tumbling into the door, his hair a huge mess from helping their neighbour. "We've meat today!" He clambers onto the nearby stool as Youngjae helps his father get up. The meal would keep them full until the next meal. As full as two slices of bread - not full at all.

HyukJae eyes the meat pieces Youngjae had dumped onto his plate as well as his father's; Youngjae didn't have any for himself. "Here you can have mine." Youngjae politely declines HyukJae's offer. "You need as much food as you can get, since you're still growing." With a small smile, Youngjae grabs the remaining two slices of bread and sits on the front porch. He munches on them while gazing up at the darkening skies.

The Lynx majestic mansions stand tall amidst the small wooden houses. They were protected by a special barrier that only Bots or the Lynx themselves could pass.

Pearyns would get electrocuted to death if they tried to enter.

After all, the only reason why the Pearyn were still kept alive was because the Lynx needed them to do the dirty work. From farming to rearing to construction, the Lynx never had to lift a finger.

What the Lynx did everyday was truly a mystery. Although, they were rumored to be drinking and partying all day. The Pearyn never know since they were never allowed inside, even if they did get in one way or another, they never came out again.

Youngjae dusts the bread crumbs off his hands and was about to get in when a commotion from the nearby house stops him.

A girl was being taken away to be a Rine. A slave.

But the Pearyn girls didn't have much of a better life either so being a Rine really wasn't such a horrible thing.

The Bot was simply guiding her to the Lynx mansions, the girl's mother was crying but she really couldn't do much. Furthermore, the girl seemed rather willing to accept her new life.

A life of serving the Lynx in a different way.

Youngjae abhorred the idea of a Rine, thankfully only girls were chosen.

HyukJae had tidied up the place and was getting ready for a shower. "You’d better hurry on or it will be very crowded." Youngjae grabs a clean set of clothes and a towel.

Showering in the public toilet was number one on Youngjae's most hated list.

There was a short queue in the toilet and it was soon their turn. "You shower first, I'll wait outside." Youngjae stands near the cubicle door with his arms crossed just like a guard, glaring down at any disgusting old men who came dangerously close.

Yes, they do try to you.

HyukJae finally appears with his towel draped across his shoulder. "Let me guard the door now."

"Go get Dad."

"But I-"

"No just go." HyukJae leaves obediently without a second glance. Youngjae enters the cram cubicle; his hand was always on the door, preventing it from swinging open from the lack of a lock. He quickly ducks under the shower head, flinching from the cold as he quickly rinses his body. Just as he single-handedly tries to struggle into his jeans, someone starts pushing against the door. "Hey pretty boy~ let's have some fun." Judging from the slurry tone, the man was clearly drunk.

Youngjae groans inwardly and slams his shoulder into the door, successfully knocking the drunkard back. He quickly slips on his shirt and darts out of the cubicle. He gives the drunkard one satisfyingly vicious kick to his abdomen and escapes before he can get up.

He hurries back to the rundown house, just in time to see HyukJae leave with his father in tow.

Hyukjae hurriedly helps his father to shower as Youngjae once again stands guard outside the cubicle.

They had formed an agreement that only after HyukJae has turned fifteen then can he take on more responsibilities, but he was still three years away from that.

Worn out and exhausted, Youngjae trudges back to the hut and collapses onto the mattress.

, do I really have to live like this? In my seventeen years of life, I've been doing the same every day.

“Equilibrium should take place soon.”

~~~

Youngjae awakes to the sound of someone pounding on the door. "Open up! We're looking for a man by the name of Youngjae!" A robotic voice delivers the message.

The three men groggily get up, slightly confused by the sudden intrusion. Youngjae's father stiffens when he realises what they came for. He quickly makes a silent gesture for them to hide as he struggles to his feet.

Youngjae grabs HyukJae and exits the house from the back door. They make a mad dash for the wooden shed and stay hidden in the corner.

With their hearts thumping loudly and the rather odd resonating mechanical drone coming from a distance, it only signaled one thing.

A Lynx was here

"Youngjae, why is he here?" HyukJae whispers softly; his hands were shaking with terror. "I don't know." It was an honest answer as Youngjae truly didn't know what a Lynx could have wanted from him. He huddles closer to HyukJae while whispering words of comfort to him.

A thunderous crash could be heard coming from the house.

, dad!

"HyukJae stay here!" Youngjae gives his hand one last reassuring squeeze before he darts out of the shed. His heartbeat was as quick as his breathing, rapid and distressed. He creeps along the back exterior of the house and steals a peep in.

His father was lying in a crumpled heap on the floor. He wasn't moving.

The Bots were currently tearing their house apart, opening things with more force than necessary. They were clearly irked that they couldn't get what they wanted.

"Dad!" Youngjae screams and dashes to his side.

Oh thank The Lord, he's breathing!

Relief floods his chest but it doesn't last for long. The Bots grabbed each of his arm and starts dragging him towards the door. Youngjae kicks and yells vigorously; he manages to slow them down but fighting against a pile of metal was really useless.

" you! Let me go!" The Bots press Youngjae's hands to his back, forcing him to kneel down.

"Youngjae, remember me?" A sweet yet sultry voice rings out clearly above the mechanical noise. A very familiar voice.

A figure decked out in the darkest black suit laced with gold ts emerges from the circle of guards.

The unmistakable smirk and his stunning good looks made him hard to forget. His presence somehow just steals your attention away from everything else and focuses it solely on him.

He turns his attention to their house and frowns a little. "Who told you fools to create such a mess?! Clean it up!" He switched from being alluringly y to authoritative in mere seconds.

That must be why he's in charge of the military and defenses.

y not much help; imperious yes.

"What the hell do you want?!" He may have been handsome but Youngjae wouldn't and couldn't fall for any of his charms.

"Did you forget my promise ten years ago?"

P-promise?

The astonished look on Youngjae's face must have answered his question. "I promised to come back for you when you were at least seventeen didn't I?"

He leans forward, dangerously close to Youngjae's face as he utters the last few fateful words.

"To be my personal Rine."

"What the hell?! I'm not a woman!!" Horrified, Youngjae edges as far away from the beast as possible - not far at all considering how he was still being held by the Bots.

"Who ever said you had to be a woman to be a Rine?"

Good point.

Seeing how hopeless this situation was turning out to be, Youngjae tries an alternate way. "Please, I've to take care of my father and brother." The Lynx glances into the house once more. "Your father looks healthy enough. Come, I don't want to spend any more time here." The Lynx gives their house one last distasteful glance before he leaves with the guards trailing around him.

"No! I'm never going!" Youngjae twists and drags his body around, putting up a good fight as he slows the bots down immensely. "Youngjae! Where are you going?" HyukJae dashes out from the shed, his fearful expression spoke volumes of how he was feeling. "I'm fine! Check on dad!" HyukJae nods and makes a run for the house but he stops midway. "Will you be coming back?!" Youngjae droops his head at that question.

"I don't know."

I really don't know. 

~~~