The Apple

♕ ♚ 

Jongdae ran for his life; wind harshly blowing in his face, as if trying to slow him down, stop him; sun shining brightly in his eyes as if trying to blind him, and an angry shop owner and other town people chasing after him, shouting insults and threats at him, trying to catch him and make him pay.

Pay for the apples he stole, with both of his hands.

“Someone catch him!” one of the voices shouted, and more people joined the race.

Sweat was running down his forehead, and his legs were like made of cotton candy. But adrenaline was rushing through his veins, saving his life.

Until.

Until he turned around to check how close the hyenas were and missed the hole in the sandy road. His leg gave out, he fell, apples he was holding, oh so dear, in a tight grip in his arms by his chest scattered around the street.

Jongdae’s head hit the hard road, making him see black for a moment, and when he gained his senses back it was too late. Too late to gather the apples if he wanted to save him hands. Swallowing hard, he shot back up and started running again. He could almost feel the iron grip on his neck, grabbing him, before he started running again.

When thirty minutes later, tired and exhausted, he turned a corner, Jongdae ended up in a dead end. A gasp left his lips, his heart skipped in his chest, and his brain was working on full speed. He heard nearing footsteps of the people chasing him, their loud threats, and he could almost feel their breaths on his neck.

And he was trapped.

There was a tall stone wall in front of him, and only a few wooden boxes standing in the middle of it on the road. He was frantically looking around, but there was no way out.

No salvation.

There never was. Jongdae had to always save himself on his own. So he did what he knew best, that being being his own hero, and taking a few steps back, right at the people chasing him, he took a ran into the wall once again.

“Stop!” he heard someone yell, but didn’t turn around. He knew better.

“You’ve nowhere to go!” someone else yelled.

He jumped on the boxes, on the wall, and flexing his muscles with the little strength he had left, reached for the top of the wall. His fingers brushed over the edge, and he almost fell, but managed to keep himself hanging.

Hanging.

He took a deep breath in, trying to bring his muscles to work for a moment longer. He needed to pull himself up.

“Get him!” someone shouted, and Jongdae’s eyes widened, as a moment later he felt hands brush over his ankles, trying to catch him. He started kicking, at the same time pushing his hands further onto the stone.

“Just get the elbows over the edge,” he thought to himself, trying to focus, even though fear was clouding his mind, “focus on the elbows.”

When he managed to rest his weight on the right arm, he allowed himself to take a breath. And that was a mistake. That same moment, he felt a tight grip on his foot, and was pulled down again, skin on his arm being scratched, turning red and wet in a few places.

“Get here, you scum!” someone screamed, “you’ll pay for what you’ve done!”

“No, please, no,” Jongdae was chanting in his head, kicking his legs uncontrollably, only to free himself from the death grip. And he managed. After that, the rise of adrenaline helped him pull himself on top of the wall.

But the stone was rather thin, and Jongdae’s exhausted body rolled over the top and he fell down on the other side. Fool’s luck, the ally was filled with garbage, which made the fall that much less painful. But still, he groaned upon hitting the pile, and the world around him spinned.

“I know your face!” a man shouted, and Jongdae recognized it as the shop owner’s voice, “I see you again, I am killing you! You’d better run, you piece of waste!”

And they turned around, and for a moment the space was filled with a sound of ruffling and shuffling, and then it all stopped. It was quiet.

Jongdae lay on the pile of garbage, looking up at the sky, his body numb, his heart beating like crazy, his lips trembling and his eyes filled with water.

A single tear ran down his check, as he thought about the apples scattered around the road.

“These were only three,” he mumbled. Another tears fell, and a loud cry ripped from his chest, “only three apples!” he yelled at the top of his lungs, cursing the fate.

♕ ♚ 

The sun was setting when Jongdae carefully closed a wooden door behind him.

“Dae!” he heard a cheerful voice, and a moment later small hands embraced his legs, “you’ve been gone the whole day!” a girl’s voice spoke, “did you meet a funny mister like last time again?” she giggled.

Jongdae smiled sadly at her, ruffling her destroyed by sun hair. Shame and guilt were eating him out, “hello, Ria,” he spoke softly, “I’m sorry I was gone for so long. And no, today, I didn’t meet anyone,” he smiled, kneeling down and taking the child in his arms.

“Did you bring anything to eat, Dae?” she whispered uncertainly, hiding her face in Jongdae’s shoulder.

The boy swallowed, and blinked away a few tears threatening to fall down, before answering, “I didn’t.”

“That’s okay,” she whispered back, pulling back and caressing Jongdae’s hair with her small hand, “you are hurt again,” she pointed, running a hand over the older’s scratched face and shoulders.

“That’s nothing,” he said, “I am really sorry. I will bring food tomorrow. I promise.”

The girl only smiled, and Jongdae had to bit his bottom lip and turn his face away. He couldn’t bare looking at the hungry child in his arms, knowing he failed to provide her with food. He couldn’t stand looking at her, and knowing that upon entering the house, there will be six other children waiting for food.

Food, which he didn’t have.

♕ ♚ 

His lips trembled, and huge, hot tears streamed down his face on the sand. He bit his own hand, trying to prevent himself from giving out any noises, not wanting to wake any of the kids up. His head was hurting, his eyes were heavy from exhaustion, and his stomach was demanding food. He felt sick, not having eaten anything the whole day, and everything was slowly spinning around him from dehydration. His mouth watered when his mind brought the images of red apples he was holding in his hands earlier. Shivers ran down his spine, and it suddenly got really hot. Jongdae was very familiar with this state.

Last thing he managed to do, was push himself closer to the wall. He rested his back against the warm stone of the building, and his lips, as if hoping to gather a taste of anything from them. But the only thing his lips carried was sand. Jongdae shivered once more, and started slowly falling into oblivion.

“The starts shine really bright tonight,” he realized, before he lost consciousness.

♕ ♚ 

Minseok woke up early, and quickly jumped out of his bed, ready to start the day. He got himself dressed, ate breakfast in a hurry, and upon throwing a few coins into is robes, he ran down the palace’s stairs, right in a direction of a gate.

“And where, excuse me, are you going?” he heard his mother’s voice, just as he was about to reach for the gold knob, and cursed under his breath. But straightening his back, Minseok put a smile on his face, and turning around, greeted the woman.

“Good morning, mother,” he bowed, “I am planning on going to the city.”

The woman raised an eyebrow, “are you?”

Minseok frowned, “mother, we had a deal,” he said, “I spent the last three days meeting with your suitors, just like you wanted. I have no meetings today, so yes, I am planning on going to the city.”

The woman wrinkled her noise, not liking the idea one bit, but sighed in the end, and nodded, “do not show your face, and be careful. I see a scratch on your face one more time and you are never leaving alone again. I see anything beyond the scratch and you are never leaving again at all,” she said, and Minseok only beamed.

“Understood, Your Majesty,” he spoke and quickly left, before his mother managed to add anything else.

He didn’t want to listen to her. He didn’t want to listen to anyone.

He was on a mission.

The day was beautiful, the sun was shining high at the sky, the sky was blue and clear, with no clouds visible, and the temperature was only rising. Minseok smiled to himself while passing a river, breathing in the fresh air, and added a slight hop to his walk. He was excited. This was the first time was he going to the town legally. There was no one breathing on his neck, no voice warning him against him mother, no one to tell him what to do or where to go.

Upon arriving at the fountain, Minseok once again looked around. This time, the place didn’t look as nice and fresh. There were no girls sitting by the fountain selling flowers, instead a beggar laid next to it. The previously calm stores were now occupied with screaming woman, bargaining over a penny. The road was slightly muddy, and the pools of water were dirty and stank.

Minseok gasped at first, surprised at the scene. This was not how he remembered the place, and this was not what he always imagined his kingdom to look like.

“Do other cities look the same?” he asked himself, looking around. And as he was doing so, his eyes landed on the road, which he ran next time with the obnoxious boy. The path was the only lead he had on the boy, so he could as well try it.

He slowly made his way down the road, turning each time he remembered having turned while running, keeping a careful eye on the area around him. One thing he realized, was that with each turn there seemed to be more and more garbage everywhere and houses looked more run down than the pretty mansions next to the palace, or clean buildings around the main square.

When he reached the point where the boy and him separated, he looked around in confusion.

“And what now?” he asked himself and sighed. Maybe after all, this was not such a good plan.

He walked around for a few moments, and spotted that there was a fruit market on a parallel street. He smiled and went there to buy himself something to munch on. He wasn’t really hungry, but it was boring walking around not knowing what to do, so he figured that he could at least occupy his senses with something.

But he never made it to any of the stores, as right before he entered an alley leading to the street, he saw a shadow jump down from the roofs, and ran down the road.

The same way the thief ran last time. Minseok frowned, but quickly making up his mind, decided to follow the person. To his surprise, it turned out that the person he was following wasn’t really that fast, and he stopped running only a few moments later. Minseok frowned, hiding himself behind one of the building, as he observed the boy fighting with a piece of wood stack in a wall. When the figure disappeared in the wall, he left his hiding place and taking cautious steps, neared the same place.

There happened to be a hole in the wall, in a shape of a circle, now not covered by anything. When he peeked inside, he spotted a small sandy yard, on which he counted seven children sitting in a circle, and one grown person. The one Minseok was following. When a brown hood fell down the person’s head, the prince almost gasped out loud.

“Found you, little thief,” he thought to himself smirking. But then quickly stopped, and the smirk was replaced by a frown. “What is that place?” he asked himself looking around.

To the group’s right stood a small, very ran down building, with broken, wooden door, no glass in windows, and roof with holes. The paint on the building was falling off, and there was lots of garbage along one of the walls. The prince bit his bottom lip, wrinkling his nose, “do they live here?” he asked himself, “impossible. No one would be able to live in such conditions.”

“Yay!” the children’s voice woke him up from his thoughts, and when he looked back at them, he realized that the thief was holding something in his hands, an object resembling a rock, “bread!”

Minseok’s eyes widened in shock. “This thing is not bread,” he spoke to himself, “what is… what is going on?”

He watched the children each grab some of the ‘bread’, and bring it to their mouth. He was beyond confused and concerned. When he looked at the boy he was following, he saw a small smile on his face, but what caught his attention were the boy’s sticking cheekbones and hollowed cheeks. Another thing that caught his attention was that there was nothing left on the boy’s palm. And he wasn’t eating.

Minseok bit his lip harder, as a terrifying sense of realization started washing over him.

He wasn’t eating, because he had nothing to eat.

“Dae,” he heard a small whimper, and suddenly realized one of the children was pointing a finger at him. He gasped, and his eyes met with the boy’s.

Minseok started running.

“Stop!” he heard behind him, and a moment later was harshly pulled by his robes, his hood falling from his head. “You!” the boy gasped, his eyes widening, “what are you doing here?!” he growled, pushing Minseok against the wall.

The prince didn’t answer, his mouth slightly parted, eyes big with shock, sympathy and fear. He only watched the boy, studying his features.

“What are you looking for here?” the boy growled lowly once again, tightening his grip on Minseok’s robes.

“I –,” the prince started mumbling, but words got stuck in his throat. He swallowed, and asked instead, “who are these kids?”

The stranger raised an eyebrow at him, confused, “why would you care?” he hissed, letting go of the prince.

“Tell me,” he pleaded, “do they – do they live there?”

“It’s none of your business!” the boy yelled, “get out of here!”

Minseok swallowed, feeling afraid of the boy to some extent, but he didn’t want to back down. And his answer was enough for him, anyway.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked, opening his hands in a helpless gesture.

The other blew a raspberry, and hisses, “you can get out of here,” as he turned around.

“Let me help!” Minseok yelled, grabbing the boy by the hand, “please.”

“Why do you wanna help?” the thief asked in a whisper, studying the prince’s features.

“Who wouldn’t wanna help?” he deadpanned.

“People like you never help.”

Minseok’s face dropped, “people like me?”

“People with money.”

“Money doesn’t turn us into monsters.”

“Where did you even come from?” the boy chuckled, finding Minseok’s gullibility beyond funny.

The prince didn’t answer.

“Let me help,” he whispered again.

“What do you want?!” the boy yelled desperately, “I have nothing! I have nothing to give you! What do you want from me?!” he screamed, “is it a revenge for the time I ran into it? I’m sorry, okay! I am sorry –“

“Stop, stop it!” Minseok yelled, louder than the boy, “stop it,” he repeated calmer, as the boy’s voice became quieter, “I don’t want anything in return. I am not asking you for anything, but to tell me how can I help.”

The boy swallowed.

“Hasn’t anybody ever helped you?” Minseok threw, confused by the boy’s behavior. To his surprise, the latter only shook his head. The prince was beyond shocked.

Silence fell between the two, until Minseok noticed something. The boy in front of him was holding something in his right hand, in a tight grip, as if it was to save his life.

Bread.

Minseok snatched it quickly from the boy’s hand, and the latter gasped, quickly extending his arm to take it back.

“Give it back!” he groaned.

Minseok’s eyes widened, “it’s hard as rock,” he pointed, “why are you carrying it?!”

The other’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t answer.

Minseok took a deep breath in and threw the bread onto the ground. The thing fell hard, creating dust around it.

“Rock,” Minseok mumbled.

But the thief only let out a small cry and jumped forward to grab it. Minseok’s heart ached. He quickly grabbed the boy’s arm, and tearing bread away from his grip, this time tighter, but still too weak to save it from Minseok, he threw it into the well standing by one of the buildings, “leave it,” he spoke softly, “wait here, okay? Just wait!” he asked the boy and letting go of his hand quickly ran away.

♕ ♚ 

Jongdae looked at the boy’s disappearing figure, and bit his bottom lip. His stomach growled, begging for food. He glanced towards the well, and taking a few steps towards it, he looked down.

It was pitch black, the bottom swallowed by darkness. His first meal in two days, swallowed by nothingness. He tightly grabbed the edges, and let a loud, agonizing scream out.

Why fate hated him so much, he wondered. Why gods liked to play with him so brutally.

A small voice appeared in his head, urging him to stand down for a moment, and trust the stranger. Trust that he will come back. That he will help.

But people never helped. Since Jongdae could remember, people were always nasty towards him, playing him, cheating him, threatening him, turning him into what he was now.

A thief.

Or maybe that was just life that turned him into public enemy number one. Maybe people had little to do with it, because his fate had already been written down long time ago. He never got a chance to really take his fate in his hands. He was never given a chance to do better. Jongdae was a good person. He had a kind soul, he loved to laugh and smile, he adored warm hugs and cuddles. He like telling jokes, and hearing people laugh at them, he had a secret love for romance, and a deep, well-hidden and buried desire to once fall in love, hard and painful, but with fire and emotion, love that will turn his world around.

He wanted things everyone wanted, he enjoyed daily things, and deep inside his soul he was just a lost puppy.

But the only thing people knew was that he was a thief.

No one ever asked why. No one wanted to know the story. Everyone only assumed. Spread gossip. Wrote his book for him. Making him sign it with his blood.

Jongdae sighed, hiding his face in his hands.

The stranger was not coming back. Hope was for fools.

“Are you okay?” he heard a voice next to him, and when he turned his head to the side, his eyes landed on the figure of his porcelain stranger, who’s arms were packed with three paper bags.

“You,” he mumbled, “what are you doing?”

“Stop asking stupid questions, and help me. It’s not particularly comfortable to carry all these,” he ordered, pushing two bags in Jongdae’s hands.

The thief only blinked a few times, confused.

“What are you waiting for?!” the boy asked, slowly walking away, “we don’t want them to waste, now, do we?” he asked, and Jongdae looked inside the bags.

His eyes widened, and arms almost gave out.

Two bags in his hands were filled with different kinds of fruits and bread.

Fresh bread.

Jongdae’s mouth watered, and his mind clouded.

“Hey, you!” the boy called, “are you sure you’re fine?”

Jongdae looked up at him, and quickly shook his head, “no,” he mumbled, and the other raised an eyebrow, “I have – I have no –“ he was struggling, trying to put a coherent sentence, “I have nothing to pay you with.”

The boy looked at him confused, “why would you pay me?”

“I have nothing to offer you,” he whispered, looking at the boy desperately, trying to uncover his intentions.

The other only smiled, and Jongdae had never seen a smile so sincere and innocent on a face of a grown man.

“I am not doing it to get anything in return, alright? I have money, I will have a warm meal ready when I get back home, I have everything,” he said, “those kids don’t. I don’t want anything from you. Not a broken penny, not a promise, not a debt, not a deal. I just want you to take the food, take it to the kids, and eat with them. Let me help.”

Jongdae was conflicted. Life taught him that no one does nice things for free. Angels don’t exist. However, the children were starving, and here he was, standing with two bags full of food, third one in the stranger’s hold. Trick or not, Jongdae decided to risk it. For the sake of kids.

If this deal with the beautiful devil was to earn them a few more days of life, Jongdae was ready to take him up on it.

So he nodded his head, and the boy only smiled wider.

♕ ♚ 

“Guys,” the thief spoke softly, stopping in place, “this is – emmm,” the boy looked at Minseok, and frowned, “this is –“

“Xiumin,” the prince quickly introduced himself quietly to the other, knowing better than to reveal his identity.

“This is Xiumin. He got something for you,” he smiled at the little humans, and put the bags on the sand.

The children’s eyes widened in shock, and they looked at the boy unsurely.

“Dae,” someone whispered.

“Go ahead,” Minseok knelt down, and taking a soft bun from the bag, he gave it to the small girl, “eat.”

He felt the other’s gaze on him, but did not turn around. He observed the child, as she was unsurely grabbing the bun, and shyly brought it to . She only smelled it and took a small bite, when her eyes watered.

“Oh my,” Minseok panicked, “are you alright? Why are you crying? Is it not to your liking? I’m so –“

“Thank you, mister,” she mumbled, swallowing hard.

The prince’s eyes widened, and he only nodded slowly, “there is nothing to thank me for,” he whispered, “I hope you can enjoy it,” he smiled at her, caressing her hair, “all of you,” he looked up at the children, and taking a few buns from the bag, he gave it to each of the them.

The kids quickly started munching on the food, one of them almost chocking.

“Slow down,” Minseok spoke, “there is enough for everyone,” he smiled, “and if you want more, I will bring you more,” he whispered.

Nodding, the kids sat on the ground and started silently and calmly eating.

The prince and the thief sat a few meters away, in the shadow on the stairs, and were silently watching the children, until Minseok realized something.

“You’re not eating,” he said, looking at the other boy.

“I’m fine,” the other answered weakly, and the prince narrowed his eyes, “I’ll wait until they’re done.”

“You’re crazy,” Minseok exclaimed and quickly fished something from the bag, “there’s enough for everyone. I promise you. You can eat peacefully,” he smiled reassuringly and extended his arm towards the other.

The thief’s eyes widened, and a small gasp escaped his lips, when his eyes landed on what was lying on the other’s hand.

An apple.

He swallowed, and very slowly and carefully took the fruit.

Minseok watched as the other boy takes the apple from his palm, his gaze focused on it, as if he was deep in thought. He watched the boy just stare at it, as if remembering something. He watched him bring the apple to his mouth, placing it against his lips. The thief’s chest rose when he inhaled the scent of the fruit, and his shoulders started shaking. Minseok frowned, and looking once again at the boy’s face, he realized that his teeth were sunk in the red fruit and tears were streaming down his cheeks.

The prince was beyond shocked.

It was nothing else but an apple.

Just an apple.

He shook his head, trying to look anywhere but the boy next to him.

Men don’t cry. Boys don’t cry. Not over such things as apples. Last time he saw a boy cry was when he was nine and his best friend’s horse died. Last time he saw a man cry was when he was ten and his father was mourning his grandfather’s passing.

Last time he cried was when he was twelve and was defeated in a combat. That day, he felt like he brought shame to his father.

Today, he was sitting next to someone crying over an apple.

He didn’t understand.

“Are – are you okay?” he asked unsurely, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. The boy didn’t answer, “it’s just an apple. Is it because of the apple? Is it bad in taste, is it –“

“It is not just an apple,” came a weak reply.

“Huh?”

“This,” the boy said, looking at the fruit in his hand, “this almost cost me life,” he whispered quietly, and Minseok gasped.

“Wha – what?”

The boy only looked at him, his eyes wet and shining and there was a small smile on his lips.

Minseok looked back, and studied the face. It was very thin, the skin was destroyed by sun, but the boy’s long lashes decorating dark eyes were casting shadow over his high cheek bones, sticking out a bit too much. Although the boy looked tired and unhealthy, Minseok also realized he looked calm, and there was something board lining on smoothness in him – in his eyes, his gaze focused at Minseok, and in his smile, so soft and light, but yet still visible.

“Beautiful,” the prince thought, and smiled to himself.

He looked to the side, at the children, and then back at the boy. With his skin and hair destroyed, his body being so unhealthy, there was nothing, in fact, ‘beautiful’ about him. But it was hidden in his eyes and smile.

“I hope you can let me help,” Minseok spoke softly, and the boy jumped slightly, surprised by the prince’s voice, “so that you don’t have to worry about apples, anymore,” he smiled, taking another apple from the bag, and placing it between him and the boy.

♕ ♚ 

The choice belonged to Jongdae – accept the offer and survive, or turn it down and sentence all of them to death.

♕ ♚ 

Hello, everyone!

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