The world is a harsh one.

                It was the very fact that the adults try to keep away from children, wanting them to believe in a world that only existed in Disney. Choi Sooyoung let out an almost defeated sigh as she stared out of the window and into the street kept alive by noisy, fast-paced cars. She’d do anything to be that kid again if it meant getting away from–

“Waiter!”

                She in a sharp breath; her hands going down to smooth the ends of her pastel pink uniform that screamed ‘diner’ no matter who saw it. Adjusting the waist-down white apron until it looked properly fixed, she pasted a smile on her face no matter how forced it was. Taking out her pad of order slips and her trusty pen, she reached the table in a few strides, struggling to keep a smile on her face when she saw the four men that occupied it.

“Hello. May I take your order?” She had to force the words out of .

“Well, well… if it isn’t little miss I owe people money.” The eldest of the males, their leader, replied with a smirk that she would love to slap off his face. “I hope you’ve been working hard to have the money.”

“Not here…” A low hiss escaped her as she forced a smile when one of the other waiters sent a questioning look to the table.

He arched an eyebrow. “Another time and another place, then?”

Sooyoung nodded shortly; her grip on her pen tightening marginally. “What can I get you for tonight?”

“Four buffalo wings, four large fries, two platters of baby back ribs and four mugs of draft beer.” The chubbiest one answered for everyone; his eyes scanning her up and down.

She fought the urge to make a gagging sound, hurriedly repeating their order before nearly running to the counter. Kim Heechul was instantly by her side, having caught her discomfort before she hid it well. “Are you okay, Sooyoungie?”

“Nothing I can’t handle, oppa.”

                It was three hours after that incident that the small restaurant closed; the waiters, waitresses, cooks and other staff gathering outside the back entrance to properly lock up the place. An exhausted sigh escaped her parted lips as she massaged her stiff shoulder. She was glad that she was going to be home very soon.

“How is your sister doing?” The eldest of the waitresses, Boa, stood by her side with a concerned expression on her face. “Does she feel better?”

A sad smile crossed her face. “She would’ve if I had enough money to buy her medicine.”

Boa shook her head, digging through her purse before she pulled out a bottle of medicine. “I think that the real problem with her is just the cough and colds. If those subside, her fever should too.”

“Thank you, unnie.” She said gratefully; a small frown appearing on her face. “I owe you one… again.”

“We’re friends, Soo.” The older woman shook her head once more, scowling half-heartedly when a male figure wedged himself between them. “I was about to hug her, oppa.”

“We can have a group hug.” Heechul rolled his eyes, wrapping his arms around both women’s shoulders before sending a pointed look at Sooyoung. “Tell your sister that her focus should be on studying instead of working those odd jobs. You Choi women work too hard.”

                Sooyoung allowed herself to nod, looking away in fear that they would see the tears that were threatening to spill. Fortunately for her, the staff soon split up into various directions; the slim brunette getting on the first bus she saw that headed home. Flopping on the first vacant seat she could find, she could only pray that when she got to her house, everything would be better.

“Unnie…”

Sooyoung threw her small bag, worn out jacket and thin scarf on the chair by the door in her rush to get to the bed. “Sulli, are you okay?”

Her younger sister coughed into her fist; a shaky breath following soon after. “I think so…”

“Boa unnie gave us some medicine.” Rushing back to where she left her purse, she took the medicine before taking a detour to the small kitchen their studio type room to fill a glass up with water. “She says you just need of it to feel better.”

                A grateful smile crossed Sulli’s pale face as she accepted the glass of water and medicine, popping the tablet in before finishing of the cool liquid in one long swig. Sooyoung sighed in relief as she sat on the bed she shared with her younger sister, reaching for a nearby face towel to wipe the sweat off her sister’s face. Glancing at the twice repaired fan that sent air moving around the room, she knew an air conditioning unit was just a dream for them.

“I’m so sorry, Sulli…”

“Unnie, why are you one the one apologizing?” She asked. “I was the one who didn’t take care of myself properly. That’s why I got sick.”

A teary smile crossed her beautiful face as she took her sister’s hand in hers. “You should be studying full time, not working and studying. I should be the one providing for you. If appa and umma were here, they’d be disappointed.”

“Don’t say that, unnie.” The younger Choi smiled. “They’ll be proud of you if they were still here.”

                Her efforts were rewarded by a soft laugh as she continued wiping Sulli’s face dry. The silence didn’t reign long however as a rough set of knocks banged the wooden door. The Choi siblings exchanged a look; Sooyoung getting up from the bed to answer the door.

“You did say another time and another place.” The leader of the gang that tormented her earlier – that tormented her for the past few months – said in greeting; a sinister smile on his face.

Her eyes widened in fear, opening the door just enough for them to see her but not her sister. “I don’t have any money.”

“Your family has a debt. You need to pay.” One of the other three spoke up.

“Please, give me time. My sister’s sick and I don’t even have money to buy her medicine.” Sooyoung pleaded. “Please understand.”

“It your parents died and left you with a debt you have to pay on your own.” The leader spoke in a tone that was anything but full of pity. “Well… If you don’t have any money, I guess we have to take what we want.”

                From the other end of the hallway, Jung Yunho cautiously and hesitantly opened the door of his newly rented apparent, sticking a small part of his head enough to see what was going on outside. It was already late in the night and it was supposed to be quiet but considering that the walls of the apartment complex weren’t sound proof, he heard the pleading of a woman on the other side of the hallway. He didn’t know the residents of the room closest to the stairs personally but he had seen them enough to know that there were two females – siblings – who lived there.

                His eyes widened as they saw the four men barge into the apartment; the begging of the eldest of the siblings falling on ignorant ears. She had followed him inside and he soon heard the cries of two women. A curse rolled of Yunho’s tongue. Where were the other residents on their floor? He had no time to react more as the thugs came out again, prompting him to pull himself back in. Counting to five mentally, he peeked outside again and saw that they were carrying the food that the sisters had.

                The two sisters stood by their doorway, hugging in each other in fear and in protection on the part of the elder Choi. They could only nodded vigorously and helplessly as they were warned that they needed to pay the next time they crossed paths. Yunho waited until the goons were gone and the sisters were back safe in their room before he stepped into his own.

“What the hell is going on?”

o-o-o-o-o

                After Sulli had assured her more times than they both cared to count that she was going to be alright on her own, Sooyoung pushed herself towards the door, extremely reluctant to leave her younger sister without anyone watching over her. Ever since the pack of goons her parents owed money to appeared a few nights ago, she had been living in paranoia mostly worrying about her sister’s safety. What mad everything feel somewhat better was the food that somehow appeared outside their door every morning. Thinking that it was probably one of their neighbors who took pity in them, Sooyoung could only blink in shock when food found its way to her door morning after morning after morning.

                Yelling for her sister to lock the door properly after she left, Sooyoung opened the door and was no longer shocked when she found a small bag of bread on the worn out doormat in front of her. Her eyes widened though and that was because of the figure of a young man walking to the end of the hallway; his shoulders tense and his steps quick.

“Hi…”

He stopped dead in his tracks, hesitating for a moment before he turned his head; Sooyoung just having the time to catch herself before her breath could hitch in . “Hi…”

Sooyoung stooped down to take the small bag of bread. “Is this from you?”

“Yeah…” The dark haired man with such a handsome face nodded slowly; his cheeks turning pink.

“Are the rest from you too?” When he nodded shyly once more, she walked over to where he stood and extended her hand. “I’m Choi Sooyoung.”

He shook her hand. “Jung Yunho.”

She smiled as if she didn’t have the problems she was dealing with. “Well, Yunho-ssi, thank you for keeping me and my sister alive every day.”

                It wasn’t the last time he got to speak with her even if his subsidizing of food slowly came to a stop as she was finally able to get her finances in check and her sister was well enough once more. That only meant that she had an excuse to head to his apartment when she had the luxury of time, cooking him something for breakfast or dinner (it was really midnight snack if you thought of it) as a form of gratitude for the Samaritan act he had done for them. She had learned that he was a dance instructor in a studio near the apartment complex and that he had two days off in a week. His days off didn’t coincide with hers, leading his apartment to be the temporary home for Sulli when Sooyoung wasn’t home.  

“Oppa, Sooyoung unnie is gonna love these cup–” Sulli trailed off mid-sentence as she and Yunho stepped out of his apartment at almost midnight, having received the message that her older sister was home, when they were met with the sight of the same men from the other night barging into the Choi’s home.

Yunho pulled her back in the room, closing the room quietly but quickly behind them. “Oppa, unnie’s there!” She panicked; tears streaming down her face. “We need to save her!”

“I’ll save her.” He corrected, shaking his head when she looked ready to protest. “She would want you to be safe, Sulli. Where is the nearest safest place you can go to?”

“Heechul oppa lives the closest.” Her eyes went wide as they heard the loud sound of breaking glass. “Oppa, we have to hurry!”

“Pass by the fire exit. We’ll come for you once it’s safe.” Yunho instructed as he swung the door open once more; the two running out as soon as they could. “Run, Sulli! Go!”

                With one last tearful glance, Sulli made a mad dash for the fire exit without looking back ever again. Yunho sent a prayer up in the heavens that the younger Choi be always kept safe as he ran to the Choi’s apartment; his worry soon replaced by rage when Sooyoung’s pleas and cries from inside. He shouldered the door open, not surprised that one of the four goons were guarding the door; said goon falling flat on his face when the door collided hardly with his back.

“What the ?” The guard dog of sorts was soon back on his feet, glaring at Yunho. “Now just who the hell are you?”

                Yunho’s wide eyes darted all around the room, taking in the messed up apartment. What little belongings the Choi sisters had were scattered over the place as one goon stood by the small kitchen table; his hands poised on the food that Yunho had been giving the sisters for the past days. The man he knocked over was still glaring a whole through him, now being joined by the other equally short man… and as soon as his eyes fell on Sooyoung, pinned on the floor by the leader’s body, all Yunho could see was red.

“Get him!”

                One of the two short men lunged for him; Yunho catching him mid-punch and throwing him hardly against the door, satisfied when he was knocked out cold. The second one took the chance of his temporary distraction, jumping on his back and wrapping his arms around Yunho’s neck and chocking him hard. Yunho coughed, struggling to get air into his lungs; Sooyoung’s scream as the leaders pulled her hands above her head and rubbed the lower half of his body against hers.

                A growl escaped his lips as Yunho backed up against the door, slamming the goon’s back against the wooden door. A part of his mind wondered just where in the world the neighbors were yet again as the smaller man groaned in pain and slid off his back. The same small recess of his brain acknowledged the fact that they were probably too scared to get themselves involved and scoffed at the thought. The thug that had set his eyes initially on the food abandoned his initial goal, running with his fist held back to strike. Yunho hurriedly picked the semi-conscious one on the floor and threw him at the incoming brute; his shoulder connecting harshly with the latter’s abdomen. The leader screamed in fury at the sight, giving Sooyoung the opportunity to knee him in the groin, pushing him off of her. A sharp kick to the stomach later, she ran to Yunho; the dark haired man catching her in his arms midway.

“Let’s go.” Yunho whispered urgently but before they could take step closer to the door, he was violently pulled away from her; a fist soon connecting with his jaw.

                Tears streamed down Sooyoung’s cheeks as the lone thug left standing pulled Yunho up to his feet, holding his arms behind him as the gang leader curled his hand into his fist, punching Yunho’s stomach. He groaned in pain as his body bent forward involuntary but the other thug held him up. Sooyoung looked around frantically in search of anything that can help the man that had provided for her and her sister for the past days; her hands soon finding the trusty chair by the side of the door. Lifting it up in her hands, she slammed it at the back of the leader’s head as hard as she could; the man falling flat on his face, unconscious. Yunho took the chance and elbowed the remaining thug in the face; the latter stumbling backwards and only having little time to clutch his broken nose before he was grabbed by the collar and hurled at the nearest wall.

Yunho looked at the carnage surrounding him, wincing as he did so. “We need to get out of here. Grab whatever you can, Soo. We don’t have much time.”

                Sooyoung nodded absently; her mind flying all over the place as she ran around the room with two plastic bags in her hands, filling them up with the necessary belongings she and her sister had. Most of them were her sister’s clothes and some of the things that their parents left behind. Yunho kept a watchful eye on the unconscious men sprawled all over the floor, kicking the leader in the gut for good measure.

“Never ever touch her again or I will kill you myself.”

Sooyoung appeared by his side; one of her hands carrying the plastic bags filled to the brim. “Oppa, let’s go.”

                With her free arm gingerly around waist, the two hurriedly but carefully left the wrecked apartment. Heading for the fire exit, Yunho was about to reach for the doorknob when Sooyoung suddenly stirred them and they ended up going inside his apartment. She helped him sit on his bed; the questioning look on his face turning into a confused one when the tall brunette moved to head for the door.

“Where are you going?”

“Those guys don’t know who you are, oppa. They don’t know you’re my neighbor. Just stay away from them and you’ll be safe.” She explained patiently, turning around to face him. “Oppa, where’s Sulli?”

“I sent her away when we saw those bastards came in your apartment. She said she’s going to this guy named Heechul.” Yunho frowned heavily. “I’m coming with you.”

The brunette shook her head adamantly, knowing that the longer they spend talking, the bigger the chance that those thugs could catch up with her. “If you come with us, they’ll come after you, oppa. You don’t need people like us messing up with your life.”

                Ignoring how his body screamed in pain, Yunho got up from the bed and walked over to her in long, determined strides. She opened to protest once more when he suddenly cupped her cheeked and kissed her. Sooyoung stood frozen, not having time to process everything that had just happened when his lips left hers; his forehead resting on hers soon after.

“I’ll go pack whatever I can bring.” He murmured against her lips, stealing a quick kiss before he went about packing, mentally reminding himself to take the money he had been saving that was hidden in his closet. Sooyoung stood rigid in shock one moment longer before she finally snapped out of it and helped him out.

o-o-o-o-o

“UNNIE! OPPA!” Sulli was out of the house as soon as Sooyoung and Yunho were out of the cab, wrapping her arms around her big sister. “Are you guys okay?”

“CHOI SOOYOUNG, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?” Heechul demanded as he stepped out of his home; his eyes falling on the other male in their presence and the arm that was wrapped around his co-worker’s slim waist. “AND JUST WHO ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU TOUCHING HER?”

The Choi sisters shook their heads; the older of the two opening to speak. “How much do you know, oppa?”

“Enough.” Heechul replied, sighing before he ushered everyone inside. He didn’t want to risk the possibility of those morons roaming the area. “What are you planning to do now?”

“I’m going to take them away from here.” Yunho spoke for the first time since they got there.

The older man looked highly sceptical. “Where are you taking them?”

“I’ll take them to the countryside. I know someone there who can take us in while I find something better.” He replied evenly. “I need to take them somewhere far from those guys.”

“That’s all he told me too.” Sooyoung couldn’t help but roll her eyes when he shot her a pointed look. “Can you explain to the guys in the restaurant?”

“I can do that.” Heechul sighed. “You Chois are going to be the death of me. I just know it.”

                It was half an hour later that they found themselves riding the bus out of the city; Heechul insisting on tagging along just so he could ‘see the place’. The chocolate brown haired man was currently seated beside Sulli; his shoulder serving as a makeshift pillow for the younger Choi. Across them sat Sooyoung and Yunho; their hands joined and fingers intertwined in silence. A part of her still wondered how she and Sulli were blessed with someone like Yunho; someone who was virtually just a neighbor before all hell started.

As she stared at the passing scenery, Sooyoung bade goodbye to the city and hello the future that surely had Yunho in it.