When he had left for his job teaching Computer Science at some high school Choi Minho didn't expect that he would be returning to the 'poor' end of Seoul so quickly. No, when he left he had fully expected to stay in his job for a good few years. That wasn't to be though for he was fired after a few months on the job, due to the Principal of the school deeming what he was teaching the students inappropriate material. 

 

He had definitely not expected to return on Christmas Eve of all days, or nights as the sun had set long ago. 

 

The street he was walking down though was very familiar to him, since it led to the apartment complex that he had lived in with his friends before. Two of which still lived there, and he was hoping Jinki and Jonghyun would allow him to move back in, at least for the Christmas period, if not longer.

 

He was pretty positive that they would, seeing as they had lived together before, but still... it was their apartment now so he felt it only appropriate to visit and ask.

 

It was bitterly cold, and the leather coat on his back wasn't really doing a lot to stop him from freezing his backside off. Winter was never a good season for those who had a definite lack of money. Sadly Minho was one of those poor people, and unfortunately had been for years since he left University. He had struggled to find work, and even when he had it didn't last long. 

 

His income was low, but he knew that if he needed money he could just use his technical skills to rewire an ATM machine. He didn't want to resort to that too often though. That was stealing after all, and he did have a sense of right and wrong despite being low on luck and money.

 

He needed to get inside quickly though. This end of Seoul wasn't exactly the nicest, and with how cold and dark it was it was definitely a good idea to be inside and stay inside. There were plenty of shady characters mulling about the streets, even during the day. 

 

Spotting the public payphone under his old apartment, Minho stuck a hand in his pocket to see if he had any change. As his fingers came into contact with some coins, he smiled in relief before hurrying to the payphone and sticking the money in the slot. He dialed a familiar number before waiting for his old flat-mates to pick up the phone.

 

It was only a few moments before he heard the classic click and an idea hit him. He smirked before starting to sing down the phone. If that didn't let them know who was calling, then nothing would.

 

"Chestnuts roasting-" Was as far as he got before he heard the delighted voices of his two friends.

 

"Minho!"

 

He chuckled in amusement before glancing up towards the balcony that belonged to his old apartment. "I'm downstairs." He grinned.

 

"Hey!" Came a response. That one syllable not quite enough for him to distinguish whether it was the wannabe director who picked up the phone or the ex-rockstar.

 

"Jonghyun picked up the phone?" He asked. Slightly in jest as he knew the chances of that happening were slim. Jonghyun had had it rough over the past few years and pretty much confined himself to the apartment, only really conversing with Jinki and Minho.

 

A bark of laughter erupted from the phone before the reply came. "No, it's me." Jinki said, smile evident in his voice.

 

"Throw down the key." It was obvious by now to them all that Minho would be visiting that night, but without a key he wasn't able to actually get into the building. Of course one of the others could have come down to let him in; but they had gotten so used to their routine of throwing down the keys from their balcony to whoever needed to get in, over the years they lived together, that it was force of habit now.

 

Minho watched said balcony with amused eyes as one of the windows opened and a figure emerged. From the shadow that he could see, it was clearly Jinki that had climbed out, and the enthusiastic wave down at him was more than enough proof of that. He could still hear slight breathing on the other end of the phone, meaning Jonghyun must have taken over the receiver.

 

He was about to greet his other hyung when Jinki reached over the railings of the balcony and dropped a set of keys down onto his head. Thankfully they weren't heavy but it was still slightly uncomfortable and left a small ache pulsing at the top of his head. He begrudgingly raised his free hand to rub the spot before stooping to pick up the keys that were now on the floor. 

 

"A wild night is now pre-ordained!" Jinki called down to him. But as Minho raised his head, his eyes fell onto two figures making their way down the street towards him. They were walking with clear purpose and the baseball bats in their hands was enough to send a shiver down his spine. He had to get into the apartment quickly.

 

He took his eyes off of the approaching figures to look back towards the balcony but it was empty. His hyung had returned back to the inside of the apartment apparently. Not that Minho blamed him, seeing how cold it was, but it was enough to spark a fear into the younger male. 

 

He glanced back at the two men and saw that they were almost within reaching distance. No way was he going to make it into the apartment in time. He was screwed. What did they even want from him? All he had on him was a handful of change, the key to the apartment (which he quickly shoved down into his pants to avoid them being stolen), the clothes on his back and his leather coat. Whatever the case, this was going to be painful for him.

 

"I may be detained." He hurriedly said in to the phone before the guys were suddenly upon him. They yanked him out of the phone booth and, as the receiver hit the wall, a kick in the stomach brought Minho to the ground. He covered his head as a series of kicks and punches rained down on him with the occasional hit from a bat. 

 

Minho was barely conscious as he felt his coat slip off his shoulders and heard a triumphant yell. He struggled to raise his head only to see, once he had, that his two attackers were running away, his leather coat being tugged back and forth between them. So it was the coat they were after. Yes, it was cold, but was the situation really that desperate?

 

He pulled himself to his knees and somehow managed to crawl over to the nearest alleyway. He collapsed against a wall before groaning. This was just not his night.

 

---

You've probably noticed that this is very similar to the musical rent... well... that's cus it is. Me and my best friend were discussing fantasy kpop casting for the musical Rent, which then moved on to us imagining them performing the show... and this plot bunny hit me. The dialogue in this part is taken directly from the musical. 

Anyways... I hope you enjoyed the first part. Feel free to leave me some feedback, ^_^ It's greatly appreciated.