Chapter 1 - Chae Hyungwon

I've never been a very cheerful kid, I really wasn't. But wandering the streets without having anywhere to go made me feel like I didn't even know what being hopeless meant until that moment. It's been two whole weeks and to be honest, time never felt this painful and long.

“I've got too much to lose.”

I kept muttering those last words I heard under my breath over and over again, still not completely able to grasp the situation. But my stomach did, protesting loud enough for every inhabitant to hear. When was the last time I had eaten? Two days ago? Just when I was about to look for some shop owner that could have had mercy and given me something for free, I shook my head with a snort. There were none having mercy anymore. We were all hungry after all. The streets I passed by were all empty, the ground littered with cracks longer than my arm and tons of trash. At least I'm surrounded by my own kind, I thought while my lips. I missed the sound of cars speeding past me, the feeling of sitting inside one of those vehicles while the wind got caught in my bleached hair. But who am I kidding, after six years of oppression almost every privately owned car had been destroyed or confiscated.

I overlooked a bigger paving block that was peeking out of its predetermined place and was sent to the ground after some tumbling, hissing in pain as I felt my knee scratch over the sharp stones. “You're some clumsy , really”, I growled, rolling on my back to watch the gray and cloudy autumn sky without any intention of standing up soon. After two weeks of aimlessly wandering through cities and nearby villages, the little stones boring into my back were the only proof of the fact that I could still feel anything. That I was still alive.

“My, would you look at that?” A female voice attracted my attention after some time; whether it had been minutes or hours, I couldn't tell anymore. I turned my head towards the blonde woman and the dark haired one next to her. “You look quite lost”, the blonde said with an unsure smile and I took a deep breath, my dry lips once more.

“There aren't many people coming here anymore”, the dark haired added with a nod and hunkered down in front of me. The two were the first people to talk to me in days, but I couldn't find anything to say. What was I supposed to do anyway? My stomach took over the conversation and growled hungrily. “You must be hungry.”

I managed to raise an eyebrow at that statement and prepared myself for a dry comment, taking another breath. “How'd you tell?” My throat was burning, I needed water and something to eat. Oh and a place to sleep would be nice, of course.

“Even in that state he's being sassy”, the blonde chuckled quietly before reaching out with her hand to pull me up on my feet again. “Now don't be like that, we'll help you.”

“Who are you?”, I mumbled. “And why would you in the first place?”

The blonde kept smiling while carefully my hair out of my face. “I'm Bora and that's Hyorin”, she replied as she took my hand to pull me further down the street. Her hair was falling over her shoulders in soft waves and I couldn't deny that her face was pretty, but hell, I was worried about where they'd take me to. “I guess you ran away from home, right?” She took my lack of response as a yes and Hyorin showed up to my right.

“We're not much different from you, but we know where to get food, don't worry!” Why were they helping me? Just because they thought I was the same as them? I've got too much to lose, his words echoed in my head again and I shook it to get rid of the voice. My feet tripped over themselves again and were barely keeping up with the two girls as I stumbled after them, but the thought of getting something to eat was enough to keep me going.

“Say, little boy, what's your name?”, Bora asked cheerfully, but I bit my lip to keep myself from replying. They are too nice, I can't trust them. They exchanged short glances before slowing down a bit and Hyorin took my free hand, oblivious to the way my body tensed up when she and Bora tightened their grasps.

“You don't have to tell us, it's fine. Just cheer up, please. That frown doesn't suit you.” The tone of her voice made me feel like a boy that was being scolded by his sister and I stared at her big expectant eyes before slowly forcing the corners of my mouth to go up a few millimeters. It seemed enough for her, because she smiled back at me and we kept going. After only five minutes, we reached an old subway entrance and I eyed the dark stairs skeptically. Were they even telling me the truth? They could murder me down there and nobody would notice, right?

Who am I kidding, death would be a good option by now. I've got too much to lose. Well I didn't have anything.

I drew another breath before following the two girls down the stairs and was surprised when there were actual lights dimly showing me the way to a bigger underground plaza. Not even the streetlights on the outside could shine this brightly, whoever lived down there had to either be rich as or a very good thief. A gasp escaped my lips when I spotted the other people. There were, like, fifteen boys and girls around my age sitting around a big fire, turning their heads with a start when they heard my shuffling steps.

“Ah, noona!”, a boy shouted, waving them closer just when his eyes fell on me. “You brought someone new?”

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