He looked around the small room; it wasn’t much different than what he was used to. He remembered the day a hand was clamped over his mouth and he was dragged into the bushes, thinking that it was the end. Yoongi was the one who dragged him; the reason he didn’t show up at all was because he said that officials were roaming the streets of the Void; that’s what they called the town that were left behind in terms of technology. Yoongi didn’t knock on his door because he was afraid he would be followed and this might lead him to Taehyung, the most wanted criminal in the country. The news should cause him to worry, but he’s more relieved that Yoongi didn’t betray him as he had suspected.

So now here he was, in another building because Yoongi was worried he would be easier to trace if he kept living at the same place. He obeyed, thinking that Yoongi knew what he was doing. Living at the mercy of others required him to be aware and completely trust that person, even if that would mean walking into a trap. Yoongi might be a little rough on the edges, and had a sharp tongue, but Taehyung knew him as a kind-hearted person. His mouth would curse you a lot, but his actions would show that he cared. A lot. He threw the polystyrene in which his lunch was served in the dustbin under the table, while he gulped down on the bottled juice- which was too sweet but he couldn’t complain.

He was about to slump against the battered sofa when he heard a faint knock. He expected it to be the door, but it was a knock on the window. He almost freaked out when he saw a girl, whom he couldn’t tell whether she’s younger or older than him, beckoning him, while showing the lock, which were keeping the window secure. She’s asking him to open it. Was she serious?

She didn’t give up when she ruffled her hair in desperation, half-whispering, half-shouting, “I’ll break this window if you won’t open it!” Her tone descended and she was almost begging, “Please, I need to run away.”

Hearing the word ‘run away’ caused him to find himself going to the window, reaching for the lock. It was like a connection. She beamed when he twisted the lock, allowing her to stumble into the room with a less-than-graceful fall. Well, even her request for entry was less than graceful. Taehyung stared at the girl on the floor near his feet, two apples rolling out of her pockets. Her long hair spread out, like the shape of a fan. Her face was planted on the floor. He couldn’t figure out whether it was because she was embarrassed or she was in pain, but she didn’t move for a whole five minutes. Or at least that’s how long it felt to him.

“Um… Hey…” he tapped her on her shoulder, afraid that any sudden movements might cause her to lash out.

“I’m fine! I’m fine!” she held up both of her arms, like she was being arrested.

Only then Taehyung got a good look on her face. Aside from the dirt smudged across her face, she was a simple beauty. She seemed a bit clumsy when she almost planted her face on the floor again as she tried to stand up, but Taehyung steadied her while carefully gripping her shoulders. She brushed strands of her hair from her face, while bending down to pick up the two fallen apples. She rubbed one against her shirt and immediately took a huge bite out of it.

“Man, I was so hungry I felt like I could die,” she announced, still absorbed in eating the apple. She forgot the man who helped her, while he only managed to stare at her.

“You ran away because you were caught stealing?” Taehyung started, his eyebrows creasing.

“Oh.” She noticed the man staring at her, and she clumsily took another bite, chewed it completely before swallowing it. Then she continued, “Well, that was one of the reason. Not my main reason on why I ran away.”

“Your main reason?” He crossed his arms.

“I needed to run away because they might sell me off to another country. Or cut me up and sell my organs,” she said before taking another bite; it was as if what she just said was no big deal.

“They could track you, right?”

She grinned, before finishing the last bit of the apple. “They can’t. I have no ID chip.”

“And the reason you don’t?”

“I was born out of we