Chapter 0: Astray

‘I’m sorry but you are too young to work at a bar.’

‘I’ll work very hard.’

‘I feel bad for you boy but I don’t want to get in trouble with the inspection. You’ll have to try somewhere else.’

Minwoo leaves the bar, devastated.

His only family, his grandmother passed away. The funeral was 5 days ago.

They burned her. In a huge oven. It was the first and only funeral Minwoo ever had in his life. They didn’t want to bury her because that was too expensive. That’s what he heard the other people there say. Those people aren’t his real family. They are just people that act like they know him. “He goes back to his parents obviously.” He hated all of them for saying the same thing. He doesn’t know his parents anymore so how would he know where they are? He’s all alone and now that he can’t pay the rent for his grandmother’s home there is no place to call home anymore. No one will hire him because he’s either too young or doesn’t have any experience. The real world has come to him way too early. Reality is the biggest bully in the world and he seems to be receiving hit after hit from it.

It’s already midnight. He wanders the streets with his suitcase. He has no one to turn to. He could go to a house for homeless people but he will probably be the youngest there. He doesn’t even know if there is one close to his school.

Thinking about those things he arrives in the same street as to where his school is. He puts his suitcase down and drops onto it.

His body is freezing. He looks up and sees the sky, completely lightless. Then, a drop of rain falls on his nose. Then one falls on his cheek and forehead. Minwoo sighs and quickly hides himself in his hoodie. Before he knows it the rain is pouring onto him.

He’s sure his clothes in the suitcase are wet. His hair and clothes are dripping from the rain and the cold of it makes his whole body tremble as a pathetic but planned-out reaction by mother nature.

He closes his eyes, not wanting to feel it, wanting to reject reality. He is going to school in two days, like a normal guy. He will ask school for help, his friends for advice.

You’ll be fine Minwoo. You’ll be fine.

Then, the rain dropping on his body is gone.

Did the positive thinking help? He asks himself. But then he can hear the rain, it’s still pouring like crazy. He opens his eyes and is facing a pair of legs.

‘What are you doing here?’ Before Minwoo is able to look up the man in front of him has crouched down and they look each other in the eye.

‘Did you run away from home?’

Minwoo can’t even hear him. The man in front of him has completely shocked him. He looks really young  and honestly, surprisingly handsome. He has a double eye lid on only one side which causes one eye to look bigger than the other. The eyes look at him with concern. They look friendly and Minwoo can do nothing but trust this man.

‘I don’t have a home.’ He says.

‘No. You do.’ The man holds out his hand. Minwoo turns towards the hand, gesturing towards him and then he faces the man again. ‘What?’ He asks, totally confused. Then the older man takes his wrist and pulls him up, taking his suitcase in the other hand.

‘Let’s talk at home, it’s cold right now.’

Minwoo watches the broad back of the man dragging him along. It looks incredibly strong and manly, but yet so gentle.