The utopia was crumbling. But no one seemed to care; people were too concerned with just trying to get by these days. It had been a year since the bomb had been dropped on the once-shining actual utopia of a city that you lived in. The worldwide war had ended shortly after, but the city fell into chaos.

You shook your head as you ate the last piece of bread you had. Yeah, everyone was struggling and you were no different, forced to live on the outskirts of town. You sat on a brick wall as you gazed out at the decaying city. The sun was about to come up soon, so if you were going to go into the city to get more food, it had to be now. You hopped down with a huff as the dead grass crunched beneath your boots.

As you went into your tiny shack of a house, you looked around for your bag and jacket. The bag was easy enough to pick up, since it just sat on the ground near the door. Your jacket was in a drawer with a broken frame, which only opened about 2 inches. But that was enough for you to Slip your arm through, grab the jacket, and pull your arm back. It was just another instance that made you glad to have been born with that Skill.

You began walking, pulling your jacket on as you stepped over some broken boards. The sun came over the horizon as you set out down the road to the city. It usually took an hour to walk all the way to the city gates. You pulled your jacket closer, already wishing you were back home.

The skyline was interrupted by a single, well-kept building, which you scowled at until it was out of view. The dictator, Tera, lived there, demanding this and that while her people suffered. You used to be so close to her but now– You shook your head again, trying to free yourself from a past that was still clawing at you, trying to draw you back.

As you passed the broken city gate, you took a deep breath and pulled up the hood on your jacket. You had to hide your face. You slinked along the sidewalks, staying close to the buildings when you could. Whenever you heard the mechanical whirring of the robotic patrol cameras, you hid. It took longer, but hiding was the safest way to get through the city. Eventually around midday, you arrived in what was left of one of the food and restaurant districts. Looking around, you saw only a few people. Some homeless, sleeping under a bench; one shopkeeper, looking tired as he set up his stall for the day; and a few others, people walking quickly from one place to the other and minding their own business. It was sad. You remembered when these streets were full of people happily living their lives. Now it was dark and dirty…

You sighed, shook your head, and refocused on your objective: food. You turned at a corner and walked along the alley. You turned again and again, following the alleys to avoid the main streets. Suddenly you saw a man running toward you, his face looking panicked. The bag in his hand made it clear that he had stolen something and was running from someone. He jumped over a trash can and some boxes, getting closer to you.

Later, you would wonder what possessed you to do what you did. Rather than just get out of the way, you stepped in front of him. He stopped, breathing heavily. He stepped to the left and you moved to stay in front of him. He moved to the right and you did the same thing.

This happened a few times before he let out a growl. “Come on, I ain’t got all day!” Just as he reached out to push you, he was body slammed to the ground.

This time you did jump back, though mostly from surprise more than anything else. You watched the thief and his attacker scuffle on the ground, though it was clear that the thief was way out of his league; the other man was too strong and too skilled. You heard approaching footsteps and looked up to see five more men running toward the scene.

Several of them took over for the first man, so he rolled off and jumped up. You were starting to move backwards. If these guys were cops, you could be in a bit of a tight spot. But the man looked at you and smiled. He extended his hand to you. “Hey, I’m Jongup. Thanks for stopping this guy.” You looked between his hand and his eyes a few times before tentatively moving forward.

As your skin touched his, time slowed down. An electrical shock ran through you. With wide eyes, you looked up from your joined hands. You met Jongup’s eyes and, judging from his expression, he was feeling the same thing. The scuffle behind you became silent. Even the air was still.

“What the hell is going on?” “What the-”

As soon as you heard the voice in your head, you let go, jumping away from the man in front of you. He did the same as time restarted. There had been a flash of green in his eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it came. You stared at each other until another man walked over.

You recognized him immediately. It was none other than Bang Yongguk. He was slightly taller than you had imagined and far more good looking than the wanted posters made him out to be.

“Hello.” His deep voice surprised you. He extended his hand as well and you glanced at it apprehensively. You braced yourself mentally and reached out, shaking his hand, too. But nothing happened when your skin touched his. “As Jongup said, thanks for your help.”

“Yeah, no problem.” You looked around and started walking backwards. “I’m gonna get going now–”

“I recognize you, you know.” He said, putting his hands in his jacket pockets. You stopped but kept your expression blank. “You’re at the very top of the Most Wanted list.”

“I recognize you, too. You’re the name just below mine.” You said, feeling defensive. You had several weapons on you, of course, but you would rather not use them. You just wanted to get some food and leave.

He chuckled a little and nodded. His eyes became a dark burgundy color and your heart raced as he took another step toward you. “That would be me. What are you doing in the city? Weren’t you banished ages ago?”

“I don’t have to tell you anything. Let’s just both walk away.” You suggested, stepping back again. “You take your guys and go that way,” you nodded your head in the direction that the men had come from, “and I’ll go that way” you gestured behind you with your thumb.

“Hmm… We could do that.” He smiled a little and stepped forward again. “But I think you should come with us. I just wanna talk.”

You stepped back, maintaining the distance between the two of you. “And what if I don’t wanna come with you?”

He tilted his head to one side. “Well, I am a gentleman. I won’t make you come along against your will.” You stepped back and heard a metallic click, a sound you were far too familiar with. Something hard pressed against the middle of your spine. “But I think you’ll find that I have some very persuasive friends.” His grin grew wider. He knew he had you.

You remained as relaxed as you could. This wasn’t a new situation. You had gotten out of worse and still somehow survived. You analyzed your options, pretending to watch four men pick up the thief. You hadn’t even noticed that one had sneaked around and gotten behind you.

“Just come…”

You jumped as a voice whispered in your head. You looked around and made eye contact with the man named Jongup. He was watching you with a relaxed posture but intense eyes. Yongguk raised his eyebrows, noticing the change in your posture.

You sighed in annoyance. “Fine, I have nothing better to do today, I guess.”

Yongguk smiled. “Excellent.” As you expected, a burlap bag was abruptly thrown over your head and this time you groaned in annoyance. “Just a precaution, of course.” Yongguk told you and you rolled your eyes. Rope was tied around your wrists, even though it was clear through your body language that it was unnecessary.

Suddenly you were lifted up and thrown over someone’s shoulder. You landed with a huff and wiggled a little before you settled in. The man carrying you had a unique gait, it felt fluid and relaxing. Then his hand accidentally made contact with your skin through a rip in your jeans.

“They’re kind of cute, so, like, if hyung doesn’t keep them and they get killed, that’ll be kind of inconvenient…. Ah, I’m getting hungry. I should-”

“Hey, how come I can hear you?”

The man started and then changed his hand positions. Suddenly you were alone in your head again.

★☆★☆★☆