perfection
pəˈfɛkʃ(ə)n/
noun
1. the state or quality of being perfect.
2. a person or thing considered to be perfect.
3. the action or process of improving something until it is faultless.
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❝I don't believe perfection exists in this world, but there are infinite amount of chances to being close to it.❞- Daehyun of B.A.P
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01. Perfection
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A boy laid in the centre of a decaying stone room, multiple cracks running through each stone and moss gathering by the sliver of sunlight filtering through one of the cracks in the wall. His clothes were dirtied and torn, revealing the pale skin and bruises beneath, gashes across his chest and abdomen. Heavy metal shackles bound his pale wrists to the floor, compressing his ability to move away. The boy had unnaturally strange hair; a white silver with inch tips that were coloured like the sky, however his hair matted itself to his bloodied and sweat-covered forehead. He had large thin almond shaped eyes, also the same colour as the sky. He had a scrape across his cheekbone, blood also gathering at the corner of his mouth when his cracked pink lips began to move. At first no sound came out and he was merely mouthing words, until he wet his lips with the little amount of moisture that he still had. "silbeo nun-ui guseju" he mumbled out, staring straight at me.

Hyungwon jolted awake, his body covered in a thin sheen of sweat from his dream. His body quivered as he tried to regain his breath, his eyes getting misty for no reason. He tried feebly to remember the dream causing his body so much panic, but it slipped through his fingertips like silk. Coming up with nothing, he dragged his hands down his face as he gave out an exasperated huff of air, as this had happened multiple times this week. Every morning it was the same routine; waking up in a panic but unable to remember his dream. Hyungwon was starting to consider whether the dream was the same too, but that would require the teenager to actually remember for him to actually know for sure. He sat there for a moment or two, inner pleading for some fractured part of the dream to at least come to mind, but nothing.

He decided not to focus on it any longer, it would only cause him to have yet another migraine, so instead he swung his long legs until they hung off the side of his bed. Covered in black pyjama pants with white stars on them, the teenager couldn't help himself not to smile, as they were his favourite and most comfortable pair. Along the pants, he wore a simple white crew-neck t-shirt that somehow managed to seem like it stretched across his narrow chest. Sighing tiredly, Hyungwon rubbed the last traces of sleep from his eyes and ran a hand through his brown hair to ruffle it up.

Getting out of bed and not thinking of the date, he immediately reached into his wardrobe for a seemingly classy look, a suit and tie. It seemed that whilst his mind had forgotten, his body had not. Today was January the fifteenth, also known as the teenagers nineteenth birthday. Fixing the last button for his white shirt, he reached from the dreaded tie. The slim black material looked seemingly harmless but to Hyungwon's long fingers, it was considered hell. He had never been a hands-on person, always finding any job needing them to be double the difficulty. As predicted, the knot came out messy and the overall tie looked awful.  Pulling the knot apart he retried, focusing on trying to work around the issue of having long appendages. The second attempt was satisfactory, taking until the eighth attempt to get the tie looking pretty good.

Finishing off, Hyungwon went to the mirror to check his facial appearance. His face was pale and he looked like a zombie with the half-lidded eyes and line of dried drool from the corner of his mouth. Trying to pull himself out of the haze of sleepiness, he lightly slapped both his cheeks simultaneously before cleaning away the drool. Not liking the way his hair had parted either, he played around with the strands until it fell into a good part and a section covered most of his eyebrow on one side. The teenager was lucky to escape with no eye bags, even after six days of restless or little sleep.

Not wanting to alert his guardians just yet that he was up, he lightly padded down the stairs, making no noise at all. The fancy dress shoes Hyungwon had picked were carried in one of his hands whilst his jacket hung in the crook of the opposite arm. Both his guardians were in the kitchen, shockingly so too was his older sister, Hyewon. It had been months since Hyungwon had last seen his older sister, as she was always working, leaving early and coming home very very late.

Although he had been careful not to make a sound, the three of them immediately turned towards him when he stepped into the doorway. "Happy Birthday son" His guardians said together, bland and monotone, Hyungwon wished that they would speak to him with any emotion. Luckily Hyewon got out of her seat and bringing her younger brother close for a hug, she whispered "Happy Birthday" in his ear and ruffled his hair. Hyungwon made a noise of annoyance, immediately trying to fix his hair causing Hyewon to laugh.

But when the words sunk in, his body froze and he resembled a fish with wide eyes and a open mouth. "You forgot! You forgot your own birthday" Hyewon laughed and wiping a fake tear away from her eye "Most intelligent kid in his class, and he forgets his nineteenth birthday". Hyungwon bit his lip, a common habit when he was thinking as he went over the calendar in his mind, with slumped shoulders he realised that his sister was right, he had forgotten his own birthday.

"Hyewon, stop teasing your younger brother, it isn't polite. Hyungwon, sit down and have breakfast, you must leave for the ceremony within the hour" One of their guardians chided as they set out the heaping plates of food, snapping the sibling out of their happy little bubble. Being ushered to his seat, Hyungwon at first doubted being able to eat so much until he realised just exactly was on the plate in from of him, grilled marinated pork ribs, his favourite. Usually an unusual choice for a breakfast meal but Hyungwon hoped that this was a way for his guardians to celebrate his birthday with him, but he was being too hopeful. His guardians had never been like that, so why would they start now?

Finished eating, he raced upstairs to brush his teeth, slipping multiple times due to his socks on the polished wooden floors. Wiping the traces of sauce from the corners of his lips, he quickly checked over his appearance for a second time. He had to look perfect, an idea ingrained in his mind since he was young. His guardians had always complimented his looks, which came with strict lessons to always look his best, no matter the situation. Hyungwon wished that he was eighteen again, he was dreading the ceremony. He was fine with gaining the extra responsibility and finally finding out his occupation, but he didn't want to deal with his parents becoming even stricter on him. Hyungwon had seen it happen with Hyewon, constantly pressuring her to get extra hours when she can just to prove the family's honour. First it had been with school, then it would be workplace, eventually the perfect-husband material. He shuddered, marriage was nowhere in his future.

His dislikes however, he had to keep to himself. He was putting up an image, an image that didn't allow Hyungwon to reject marriage. Differences were heavily shunned within the walls, so his guardians also made sure to teach him to keep his mouth shut and act perfect. Subconsciously, his thumb ran over the thin white scar on his cheekbone which was usually hard to spot. Many scars similar were scattered across his forearms and his back.

Finished with his rambling inner monologue, Hyungwon checked over his appearance for the last time before heading back downstairs to collect his jacket and shoes before he would leave. The three of them were still there, waiting patiently for him to return so they could say their farewells. Pulling on his black jacket, he picked up his shoes before bowing in farewell to his guardians and older sister. They bowed back and waved goodbye as Hyungwon turned and left.

His dress shoes made a noise as they connected with the pavement, the only sound to his lonely walk to the centre of the city. Hyungwon had been born into the second highest social class, so not many others shared the same birthdate and social class as the brown-haired teenager. He could probably count on one hand the amount that had birthdays today. Thankfully, his lonely walk was abruptly cut short as a stranger appeared out of nowhere, running into Hyungwon and sending the pair tumbling to the floor.

Hyungwon was left winded when his back came into contact with the pavement, the stranger weighed a lot more than his lean frame showed. He took deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart for the second time today. When Hyungwon was finally able to speak, he lost the ability again as the strange raised his head from Hyungwon's chest. The stranger made Hyungwon feel strange and something pulled at the back of his mind as his eyes drifted across the strangers features; his large thin almond shaped dark brown eyes, rosy pink lips and messy black hair. He tried not to let his eyes linger too long, unaware of the stranger's wide eyes as he blatantly stared into Hyungwon's eyes.

With a pounding heart and a blush beginning to form on his cheeks, he decided to speak to drag the stranger's attention away. "Uh, hello I am Chae Hyungwon" After the words had left his lips, Hyungwon wanted to cry, out of all the things to say and he says that?

Coughing, the stranger pushed himself up from Hyunwon's chest, unknowingly flexing his arms and showing off the raised veins on the underside of his arms. Getting up, the stranger offered Hyungwon his hand. "Shin Hoseok" he introduced as the teenager gripped his hand, surprisingly pulling up the lanky boy with ease.

Wiping away the dirt and dust that managed to accumulate on his suit from his fall, his brown eyes quickly looked over Hoseok's figure before looking back into his dark brown eyes. He was taller than average but still shorter than Hyungwon by at least an inch, having a willowy build with long arms and legs. He had slim chest with broad shoulders, defined muscles on his arms and abdomen peeked out teasingly through gashes in his shirt. Hyungwon couldn't help but to swallow harshly, his Adam's apple bobbing as the unknown feeling continued to curl in his stomach, sending heat flaring across his skin.

"I am so— so so sorry" Hyungwon stammered, trying to find the cool expression that he usually wore instead of this blushing mess. "It's just as much my fault, so don't feel too bad" he replied, his voice heavy as he tried to focus his attention elsewhere, unknowing to Hyungwon that he was trying to prevent himself from also blushing.

"I hope we get the chance to meet again, but I must leave" Hoseok said, his voice straining unusually as he awkwardly bowed, sprinting down the way that Hyungwon had came, leaving Hyungwon once again alone with his thoughts. Hoseok was refreshing in a way to the teenager, as many people had become like robots, no emotions and monotone voices. He missed the three officers chasing frantically after Hoseok's retreating figure.

Hyungwon wiped down his suit once again, dusting away the imaginary specks. Straightening his suit and tie, he was able to finally slip on his usual cool expression that had disappeared in Hosoek's presence. He had never felt so exposed with any other person like he had with him. Hyungwon continued his lonely journey, another strange feeling dwelling in his stomach although this time it wasn't due to a black-haired stranger.

Twenty minutes later, Hyungwon arrived at the centre of the city where a curved building stood, made completely of white marble. Thick white pillars supported the structure, having intricate patterns carved into the marble. A large grouping of teenagers gathered around the front of the building, waiting for the large front doors to open and for the ceremony to begin. He didn't mingle with the others that were his age, his parent's strict behaviour prevented him from making any friends. He stood lonesome, shuffling his feet from side to side as he played with his finger anxiously. Another twenty minutes slowly passed, Hyungwon in his lower lip, a habit he had picked up when he became nervous. He had never been able to handle being in large crowds, having a fondness of being on his own, the monotone voices drowning him. Thankfully, someone came to his rescue when the doors opened and government officials poured out of the building like a tidal wave of white. The President stood at the very top of the stairs, his arms outstretched and his suit a blinding white "Welcome, all new adults, to your coming-of-age ceremony" he said and the government officials then began to usher Hyungwon and the rest inside.

The inside of the building was also made of the same marble as the exterior, with swirls of black and grey within the creamy white marble. The floor was a grey speckled granite, rows upon rows of black chairs taking up most of the space. Everyone filed in and began to take their seats, Hyungwon chose one from the back rows, his height of one hundred and eighty-one centimetres would become an annoyance if he sat anywhere else. He had been seated for a minute or two before the ceremony started, calling the people's names out in alphabetical order. One by one people were called up, and Hyungwon's turn was growing closer. Through everyone else's ceremonies, the feeling in the pit of Hyungwon's stomach from earlier, continued to grow. It spread to his fingertips, raising goosebumps and making his hairs stand on end.

"Chae Hyung Won" His name was called, seeming to echo loudly in the teenager's ears. He pushed the feeling to the back of his mind, standing up and making his way to the stage next to the President. The feeling however, refused to be pushed aside, creeping up his arms and staying around his eyes. Hyungwon's skin got warm and he felt like he was about to let tears slip, but he lacked the blurry sight of the tears gathering in his eyes. Due to his height and long legs, his strides were also a lot larger than everyone elses, causing the brown-haired teenager to reach the stage quicker.

Standing beside the stoic President, the teenager let a cool expression overtake his face. The President started to speak about Hyungwon's acheivements, however he was cut off due to the gasp of shock coming from the boy beside him. A thick unknown substance had begun to trickle out from the boy's eyes and down his pale cheeks. Panicked, he wiped frantically underneath his eyes knowing it wasn't tears. Pulling his fingers back, Hyungwon's fingertips were covered in a thick dark brown substance, the exact shade of his eyes. He froze, unable to move, as the substance continued to trickle out, Hyungwon's sight become tinged slightly silver.

There was a monster, commonly talked about within the walls, but rarely caught so the public had nothing to go on but rumours. Jae Tansaeng, a creature recognisable by it's cobalt blue eyes and powers beyond human capabilities. According to society, they were power-hungry beings that seeked to control the government.

Caught up in his thoughts, Hyungwon didn't notice the wide doors opening until a pale hand had a firm grasp on his wrist, which was connected to a familiar stranger although his hair was no longer black — now dyed a light blonde. The silver curled around the base of the stranger's long fingers was cool against Hyungwon's flushed skin. "I knew it was you, from the moment we touched" the stranger said softly, his cobalt blue eyes focusing gently on the teenager's shocked face. "It's time to go, you don't belong here anymore" he said softly, grasping Hyungwon's large hand in his own. Tugging their joined hands, the stranger started to run causing the teenager to clumsily begin running also.

They burst out of the building, their entwined hands the only thing keeping Hyungwon on his feet although he was easily tiring. Being academic rather athletic, he was out of breath within two steps of exercise. Hoseok continued taking unexpected turns, Hyungwon desperately clinging onto his hand. "Hoseok, where are we going?" The boy cried out, sounding more like a timid girl than a nineteen-year old boy. Giving a small reassuring smile to the confused teenager, he replied "To the outside, beyond the walls. We've been waiting for quite some time for you". Hoseok's response didn't calm Hyungwon's confused mind, it only brought up more questions. 

"We? Who's we?" Hyungwon questioned and Hoseok chucked lowly "Jae tansaengs, tons of us. The government tried to wipe us out but some of us escaped, we have taken refuge outside these walls, they never dare to leave their perfect society". The blonde-haired jae tansaeng took another sudden turn and Hyungwon tightened his grip on the stranger's hand, causing him to squeeze back just as tight. "Hold on Hyungwon, just a couple more turns" he said. "Okay" the boy replied, now seriously out of breath from the constant exercise.

Another two right turns then a left turn brought the boys to face a tall wall, they had reached the border. Five more were waiting for the joined pair, three of them sat on the wall and the other two on a roof closest to the wall. Hyungwon was shocked, having never seen so many of them in one place before. He might have to get used to this, it felt like from now on he was going to be shocked a lot. "Damn, you were right after all" One of them called down from the wall, his cobalt eyes sparkling playfully. "Told you I was, I have found him before, have I not?" Hoseok called back teasingly, he and the other jae tansaeng obviously friends.

"Hyungwon, this joker on the wall is Changkyun" Hoseok quickly introduced before the seven of them turned to listen to something that Hyungwon was unable to. "Time to go" Hoseok said hurriedly but Hyungwon released their hands and took a step back. He was so torn; between the life he had always known and a life he dreamed of. He was so scared, the crystal clear future had become foggy and he didn't know what to make of it now. "Meosjin" Hoseok said, Hyungwon focusing on him as the foreign word passed his lips, the rest of them hooting at the blonde. "Haven't you ever wondered what's on the other side?" he questioned the brunette.

Hyungwon nodded and he looked relieved, kneeling on the floor and making a cradle with his hands. "Okay, all you need to do is put on of your foot here and grab Hyunwoo's hand" Hoseok said, his eyes locking with Hyungwon's confused brown ones. "Which one is Hyunwoo?" he couldn't help but to question, not being able to tell whether it was the snowy-haired male or caramel brown-haired male. Luckily enough, his question was answered by the caramel brown male sticking up his hand. "I'm Hyunwoo and this my other half Minhyuk" he introduced before pulling the snowy-haired male to his side and pressing a soft kiss to the side of his temple.

Hyungwon placed his left foot on the cradle that Hoseok's hands made, his left hand resting on the blonde's muscled shoulder. Mentally preparing himself, Hyungwon still wasn't ready when Hoseok launched him into the air. He immediately reached for Hyunwoo's hand, which was outstreched for him. Clutching his hand tightly when the oppurtunity came, he was hauled up onto the granite roof-tiles. Minhyuk sat down beside me, watching Hyunwoo go back to the edge to reach out his hand for Hoseok. As Hyunwoo stuck out his hand, Hyungwon noticed the officers approaching from the very end "Hurry Hoseok" he called out, worried for his safety. Hoseok walked as far away from the side of the house as possible until his back rested on the side of the house on the opposite side of the street. Getting a running start, he sprinted at the wall, taking a few steps at the wall before grasping Hyunwoo's hand tightly and also being hoisted up.

The four of us on the roof all stood up as the officers came to a stop below us, with their batons outstretched in our direction "If you turn over the so-called gujoja, Chae Hyungwon, no-one else will get hurt" the officer in charge yelled out, his eyes flickering dangerously as they focused on Hyungwon. Hoseok looked outraged that handing over the brunette was even an option. "Hyungwon will never go with you, not now not ever" Hoseok called back, erupting noises of agreement from the other five. Sending a look to Hyunwoo, Minhyuk and the others, Hoseok gripped Hyungwon's hand tightly and began to sprint towards the wall. Hyungwon was scared, an easy eight foot space was between the end of the house and the wall, the four of us wouldn't make it. But the four on the wall got into place, their hands outstretched for us.

We leapt, easily making the first half of the space, the second half was trickier. Because we started to fall and Hyungwon worried that they wouldn't make it far enough until hands grasped both of his and hoisted him up. Pulling him up until he laid on the flat surface of the wall, Hyungwon watched at the others; Hoseok was being hoisted up, so was Hyunwoo but Minhyuk had jumped on his own without people to help him. Without a seconds thought, Hyungwon got up and raced towards the snowy-haired male clinging desperately to the edge of the wall. He held out his hand, the male gripping it immediately and Hyungwon used all of his strength to try and pull him up. "Hyunwoo, help me, he's falling" I yelled out desperately and Hyunwoo's eyes widened "Minhy— babe!" he called out and immediately raced over to help. With Hyunwoo's strength, we pulled up Minhyuk easily.

Once safe, Minhyuk clung to his boyfriend desperately, tears trailing down his cheeks. "Why would you do that, knowing that no-one was there to help you?" Hyunwoo said sternly although tears were starting to gather in his eyes, obviously thinking of the possibility of no-one helping him until it was too late. Minhyuk nosed at his boyfriend's neck, trying to offer both him and Hyunwoo some comfort. "I'm sorry Hyunwoo, I'm so sorry" he muttered brokenly, tears still falling from his eyes.

Turning away to allow the couple some privacy, Hyungwon looked at the different between what the walls separated. On one side was all white buildings and grey pavement and on the other side was a sight he had wanted to see since he was little; thick forestry. Filled with bright and vibrant colours that his intelligent mind pleaded to know the names to.

A chin rested on Hyungwon's shoulder, strong arms resting lightly against his waist as he looked out at the sprawling hills. Knowing that the couple was still clinging to each other on the floor, Hyungwon could only guess it to be Hoseok and sending a quick glance at the joined hands resting at his pelvis, he knew his guess was right by the familiar hands with the silver wrapped around the bases of the digits.

"Hoseok, how are we supposed to get down from here" Hyungwon asked "The wall is at least twenty foot drop". He felt Hoseok shake behind him and bury his head into the crook of Hyungwon's shoulder, not being troubled by doing this all on his tip-toes. "Now comes the fun part" he said and Hyungwon could feel the sarcasm radiating off him in waves. "Now, we jump" he said. Hyungwon looked down at the base of the wall, finding a large deep pit with some sort of netting across the surface.

"You ready Wonho?" Changkyun teased "It's your favourite thing to do" he continued, it looked like he was going to continue but a taller male came up behind him, wrapping his arms around the smaller's waist and throwing them both over the side. Hyungwon panicked and looked frantically over the side to see that they both landed safely below. "Don't worry about Jooheon" Hyunwoo said, naming the curly brown-haired male with the deep dimples and small crescent-shaped eyes. "Those two have a complicated relationship" he finished. The snowy-haired male was cuddled into Hyunwoo's side, the tears had stopped, leaving him with puffy cheeks and a red tinge to his nose.

"You guys and your relationships, at least you have someone" A light-brown haired male complained. "I'm twenty and I have no one, so shush" he finished and simply stepped off the side. Hyunwoo and Minhyuk just shook their heads laughing "Kihyun is such a drama queen" they said together.

Feeling a warmth spread on the top of his shoulder, Hyungwon looked to the cuddling couple "You guys go first, we will meet you down there" He said and motioned with his eyes towards the shaking smaller who clung desperately to the back of his shirt. They got the message and embracing tightly, also stepped off the edge like the dramatic male before. "Hoseok, we are alone" Hyungwon said softly to the sobbing smaller, whose immense fear of heights was shown as clear as day. "Trust me okay and just don't look" He said and Hoseok then clung to the front of his suit, burying his face in the taller's narrow chest.

Wrapping his long arms around the smaller's waist, he cuddled the smaller to bring his attention away from the small steps he was taking towards the edge. One minute they were standing, then they were falling. Their feet touched the net and Hoseok  breathed in but we went flying back up and he lost his breath again, although never once letting go of Hyungwon.

By the time the bouncing had stopped, Hoseok's face had grown deathly pale from a combination of dizziness and fear. Hyungwon helped the smaller off the netting as his legs were weak. On the solid ground, the seven regrouped. Hoseok released his grip on the front of Hyungwon's suit to grab the hem of his own shirt, lifting it up to wipe away his tears. Slowly, one by one, more jae tansaeng came out from the woods, cautious at first until they noticed a new addition to the group of six that left five hours ago, to which they began applauding their achievement.

"Welcome home, Chae Hyungwon, to the land of the free" Hoseok said, gesturing to everything in front of us, causing the crowd to let out more cheers and applause.

Hoseok was right. Yes, he was home.