So the season’s for this fic will have 30 chapters rather than 20

Origins: Chaeyoung

Twas the night before the weekend and all through the house, not a creature was stirring not even….well you get it.

After a busy school week most of the girl’s had gone to bed at reasonable times in order to rest up for a fun weekend with their Appas turning in at around midnight. The house was still with only Momo’s snores causing any real noise, that was until someone decided it was safe to get out of bed and the rustling of sheets interrupted the peace of the night. Chaeyoung looked carefully over at her roommate, Dahyun curled up in a deep sleep was unlikely to catch her and so she pulled off her duvet and sat up. She had gone to bed fully clothed, it lessened the likelihood of being caught before she left. This wasn’t her first time sneaking out, nor would it be her last. Chaeyoung tiptoed over to the wardrobe and quietly opened it, she had stolen Mina’s body pillow earlier in the day to place under her sheets. Dahyun was unlikely to wake before morning, Chaeyoung should be back by then, but wouldn’t be awake enough to really register anything other than a Chaeyoung sized lumped in her bed.

With the pillow strategically placed Chaeyoung pulled on her boots and her fingerless gloves. She checked on Dahyun one more time, smiling a little at how cute she looked when she slept, before tiptoeing out into the hallway. Each step was carefully placed, she had long since mapped out the creaky floorboards allowing her to sneak in and out unnoticed. Momo and Jeongyeon had showed them all this route when they snuck them out for their first party. Her backpack had everything inside perfectly placed at to not jingle too much. Once she slid down the bannister (the stairs were too loud to risk a misstep) she quickly ran out the door and bolted to where Somi’s Umma’s car was parked on the street.

“What took you so long?” Somi asked,

“Appa Sang was up watching TV for a while,” Chaeyoung explained, settling into the passenger side, “Couldn’t risk getting caught.”

Somi started the car, “We doing this?”

“Of course,” Chaeyoung scoffed, “Old bastard has it coming.”

With a laugh Somi sped off into the night. Chaeyoung loved trouble, the thrill of being chased by police and the buzz of doing something she shouldn’t be. She thrived in the situations where only adrenaline was required. The freedom she felt when sprinting away from an authority figure gave her purpose, it was addicting and she loved it. It didn’t take them long to reach their targets home, he was an elderly man that lived a few blocks away. Chaeyoung had heard him call her Appas some awful names when she went to church with Dahyun last week and Somi had floated the idea of egging his house which of course Chaeyoung was all for….until she had a better idea. They were nearing the house when Chaeyoung rolled the window down.

“Ready?” Somi asked,

“Hell yeah!”

She grabbed Somi’s softball bat from the back seat and leaned out the window, back facing outwards as she sat on the window ledge with the bat read to swing. Somi had one hand on the wheel and another on Chaeyoung’s belt loop so that she wouldn’t fall out, she drove as close to the pavement as she could as fast as she reasonably could. Chaeyoung readied her swing and….

BANG!

The bat hit his mail box and flew down his driveway. Both girls gave a cheer and Chaeyoung got back into the car laughing. This. This was the moment she liked - pulse pounding, speeding a stolen car down the street, knowing she could get in trouble at any moment. The duo ended up stopping by the local park and jumping the fence to sit on the swings. It was locked up at about 10pm but that never stopped them anyway. Somi was sat on her swing texting someone, she and Chaeyoung never really talked about that sort of crap like dating and crushes. They preferred joking around and getting in trouble. So Chaeyoung ignored her, stood on her own swing going forward and backwards - watching the dark city in the distance. She vaguely wished she had her sketch book, the city looked pretty early in the morning.

Most people were scared of the city at night but Chaeyoung never had been, she may be small but she is mighty. When she ran away from her orphanage broken and bruised she met some of the strongest women she would ever know, they took her in and taught her everything she needed to survive on the streets. Unfortunately, there was a lot of turn over on the streets and so those women disappeared quickly when they got arrested or killed or something worse, then Chaeyoung would be left to new people - eventually Chaeyoung would probably become one of those women for someone else. She thought that would be her life, stealing from rich bystanders in order to pay for food and eventually teaching her knowledge to some other lost cause, buying time before she eventually got arrested. But as the cliché says, one day she met the Kim’s and it all changed.

It was supposed to be a simple pickpocketing.

She leaned against the wall of an ally way with her hood up over her ears, hundreds of faceless people had passed her and she had gathered a little bit of cash from past marks. Chaeyoung would usually describe herself as reckless, but when it came to pickpocketing she would meticulously plan every detail. She was only a kid and a small kid at that, so she knew picking on a 6”4 body-builder would be stupid. Anyone athletic looking for that matter was a no go, Chaeyoung was good at running long distance but not that good. Usually the best targets were the skinny people, if they were distracted or holding a lot of items it was even better. However, she’d never go straight for her mark, she’d watch them for a while first as to search for the perfect time. It was never worth risking her freedom by being stupid and not waiting for a police officer to leave.

From where she was stood she had a good view of her potential target as he browsed the stalls in the market. He had a heavy looking brief case, clearly having just left his job which told Chaeyoung two things: one was that he would have a good job and therefore a lot of money, two was that the heavy briefcase would stop him giving chase. When he happened to stop at a particularly busy stall she saw her chance, he was distracted as he spoke to the lady running the stall. She moved through the crowd fluidly, barely noticed in the bustle of the city. Everyone was too self centred to take notice of her and she was fine with that. He had his back to her and she could make out the outline of his wallet in the back pocket of his trousers.

Silently, she approached.

One foot in front of the other.

There were too many people surrounding him for the stall owner to warn him, she couldn’t see Chaeyoung step closer to him. She rubbed her hand on her trousers before reaching out carefully, her little hand reaching ever closer. The problem was however well she calculated her marks, occasionally things happened that were out of her control - a policeman rounding the corner at the wrong moment, a bystander stopping her….her mark reaching for his wallet at the exact same time and their hands colliding.

“What the…?”  The man grabbed her wrist on instinct and turned round to look at her,

Chaeyoung froze for a second before trying to pull her hand back, he kept his grip - not enough to hurt but enough to stop her slipping out of his grip. He looked stunned, this girl couldn’t be older than Mina. The stall owner’s attention, as well as that of those around them, were now on them both.

She tsked, “Filthy rat, get them all the time around here.”

“I’ll go find the policeman.” One man said turning to go,

“Wait,” The mark stopped him, “She’s my daughter.”

Chaeyoung froze again, why would he lie for her?

“I told her I wouldn’t buy her any sweets,” He continued lying, “A little rebellious, I blame her mother.”

Chaeyoung looked around at the bystanders, all staring at her, “Y-Yeah….I was trying to sneak his wallet. Sorry, A-Appa.”

“We’ll talk about it at home young lady!” The man snapped pulling her away from the crowd,

Chaeyoung followed along dazed, however when they were far enough away he stopped by a bench.

“Sit.”

The younger girl did so, still perplexed. Usually she’s be giving a sob story to a policeman about now, nobody ever lied to protect her. This man looked almost amused.

“What were you planning to do with my wallet?” He asked,

Silence.

He sighed, sitting next to her, “If it’s for food I’d be happy to buy some for you, but you need to tell me. I can’t let you just run off with my wallet.”

“It was for food…..”

He nodded, “My name is Min-Jun, may I ask yours?”

More silence.

Min-Jun sighed again before standing, “Come on, I know a nice little restaurant we can eat at - you can get whatever you like.”

“What are you, some kind of ert?” Chaeyoung finally asked studying him closer,

He laughed, good naturedly, “Not at all, my daughters are around your age. I just wish to help you, we’ll get some food and then I’ll drive you back to your orphanage.”

He had assumed she would be in an orphanage, the idea of a girl this young living on the streets was devastating. But then Chaeyoung’s face changed from angry to scared, fear covering every feature leaving Min-Jun as confused as she had been earlier.

“Please don’t take me back there.”

Min-Jun paused, “I have to take you somewhere, they’ll be looking for you.”

“Please!” She begged, “They haven’t looked for me since I ran away, don’t make me go back!”

“Why not?” He knelt in front of her,

Kind eyes watched her and his tone had softened, Chaeyoung had never known anyone to be so gentle. She couldn’t look at him, but she couldn’t lie to him either not when he was being so kind to her, “They beat me there. I’m homeless.”

Min-Jun thought it over a moment, “Do you want to be homeless?”

The little girl shook her head, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Would you come with me to the police station and tell them your story?”

“They wont believe me…”

“They will,” Min-Jun told her firmly, “I’ll make sure of it.”

Chaeyoung scoffed, “Then what? They’ll just move me somewhere else.”

“My husband and I have six adopted daughters, if you like we always have space for another. I wont let you stay on the streets.”

It sounded too good to be true but Chaeyoung had to try, if only to see if his story was for real.

“You’re gay?”

“Is that a problem?”

Chaeyoung shrugged, “Guess I don’t have to fear you being a .”

Min-Jun chuckled.

“Can we eat before we go to the station?” Chaeyoung asked, looking up at him unsure,

“Of course, anything you want.”

He stood again and this time Chaeyoung stood too, they walked out of the market together and down the street towards the restaurant he had mentioned. She didn’t really know him well enough to trust him, but Chaeyoung liked being reckless. If she had the option of making a better life she should take it, if it didn’t work out she could come back to what she knew. This man, Min-Jun, was kind and gentle, if there were anyone to trust it would probably be him.

“Chaeyoung.”

“Pardon?”

“My name is Chaeyoung.”

“What’re you thinking about?” Somi asked, they were walking back to the car now as the sun had began coming up,

“Nothing major,” She lied, “Just that I really need to get home before anyone wakes up.”

Somi nodded and soon the duo were speeding through the empty streets again. Chaeyoung couldn’t wait till one of them got their licence and they could drive legally during the day. Joy riding was fun and all but being able to drive her own car and not risk being taken home by police for the umpteenth time was also appealing. The drive was quick, they ran every red light and broke every speed limit to get to Chaeyoung’s as fast as possible. She just stared out the window the whole time, watching the sunrise over the buildings. She always loved sunrise more than sunset, it meant that something new was beginning, something pure and bright. Every dark corner would be lit as the night was chased away, all the monsters in the dark scared away too.

They arrived at the house and Chaeyoung jumped out, saying goodbye to her friend and heading inside. She opened the door silently and crept it, making sure the door didn’t slam as she gently pushed it closed with a light click. Chaeyoung’s height had always made stealth relatively easy, she prided herself in being extremely sneaky - it was the one thing she liked about her small stature. As she closed the door she used this time to congratulate herself on a successful sneak out, then she turned round to see a furious penguin standing at the foot of the staircase and promptly shat herself.

“Jesus, Mina!” Chaeyoung breathed, hand on her chest, “You scared the crap out of me.”

Mina looked angry, “Where have you been?”

Chaeyoung thought about not answering but Mina looked furious and furious Mina was terrifying. Even if she was stood, arms crossed, in Momo’s baby pink bathrobe and her penguin slippers on Chaeyoung feared for her life. She tried to smile somewhat breezily but it just looked awkwardly forced, “Just….out for a walk?”

She phrased it as a question and Mina was not amused.

Mina opened to say something, but shook her head, “Do you even care?”

“About what?” Chaeyoung cocked her head, “Going out late? I lived on the streets I can handle it.”

“What if police picked you up?” Mina snapped, “Appas already have so much to worry about.”

Chaeyoung shrugged, “They drive me home, give me a warning and leave me as Appas problem.”

Mina looked at her and Chaeyoung began to notice her eyes were sparkling, “You don’t get it.”

“Don’t get what? Mina, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Chaeyoung was confused,

She step forward to comfort her but Mina shifted away.

“You can be so brilliant when you want to but so stupid.” Mina let a few tears out, wiping them away on the back of her hand,

Chaeyoung felt a little insulted but somehow she realised she deserved it for upsetting Mina by…..doing whatever it was that made her cry.

“Minari…don’t cry…please, tell me what’s wrong.”

“They’ll take you away!” Mina snapped,

“W-What…?”

Mina swallowed, trying to speak clearly, “If Appas can’t control you, social services will take you away. Why can’t you behave? Why wont you be good!? Do you hate us that much?”

Tears rolled down her cheeks all over again, Chaeyoung felt her own well up and she ran forward to hug Mina tightly. The other girl sobbed into her neck as guilt filled the shorter of the two, “I didn’t know, I’m sorry.”

“Just be good.” Mina cried,

“I will,” Chaeyoung promised rubbing her back, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m sorry.”

It would be hours before anyone else woke up, it would be their Appas. They would come down and find the duo fast asleep, cuddled up together on the sofa. They’d coo at how cute they were before going off to make breakfast.

Not noticing the red rings around their eyes or the dry tear marks on their cheeks.