The damp night air caused me to shiver; and I unconsciously brought my knees close to my chest as I stared up at the black sky. Faraway, the stars glittered happily and for a brief second, I laughed at how mocking it seemed to me. The sound of water dropping from the rain that stopped only a moment ago, filled the ironically quiet night and I averted my eyes to just stare at the ripples staining the muddy puddles.

I let out a silent shaky breath when it felt like I had been staring for too long. I looked around me, hopeful not to wake the others up. They all seemed to be sound asleep, so I took the opportunity to dig into the brown paper bag behind me and bit into the soft pastry hungrily, finishing it as fast as I could before anyone saw me.

It was better to be cautious. One time a man saw me and I ended up with no food after three days without it at all.

Stealing was my option. But I usually try to avoid myself from committing the act. Working was my other option. I preferred this one better. Finding a job wasn't easy, so I worked hard to keep this job of mine.

Of course, I had to keep everything a secret. My friends always teased me for being too weak. They always made these kind of games where they would bet who stole the most money and I usually lost in the game and from that, I came home limping, bruises everywhere on my face.

It was then that I came up with the idea of using my pay as a substitute for money that I stole, so people wouldn't judge me like they always did.

Rubbing my stomach comfortingly, I sighed and dropped to my back. I whispered goodnight to the world, letting the sound of droplets lull me because for the next second, sleep took over. It was a tiring day afterall.

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Daehyun walked into his workplace, the door chime clinking softly as the metallic rods hit against each other when he opened the door. The sudden gush of cold air hit him and he shivered, quickly shoving his hands deep into his warm jacket. It was already cold outside.

He cursed himself for forgetting to switch off the air-conditioner last night. Unlocking the doors behind him, he proceeded to turn on the lights; his eyes ran down the tall aisles of bookshelves taking up almost half of the room space. The smell of yellowed, rusty pages and a tint of coffee rushed into his nostrils as he took in a heavy breath.

Exhaling, he walked to the counter he had been so accustomed to for a full year now. Nothing had changed from the day he stepped into the workplace. Everything was the same - his work was to organise books, and clean. Dropping his bag into his locker, he pulled an apron from its hanger and sloppily tied it around his waist before going to the kitchen to clean.

He was in his reverie when he missed the the door chime; and only that he awoke when he felt a tap on his right shoulder, then to his left. Daehyun's eyes followed as his workmate grinned at him before disappearing into the locker room at the back.

"Hyung, did you forget to close the air-conditioner last night?" he heard Youngjae say and Daehyun quickly hung the cloth he's been using to clean the the bench back to its place and rushed to the locker room.

"Was it obvious?" Daehyun asked, closing the door behind him and approached his friend from his back.

"It's kinda cold," Youngjae replied, twisting his head to look at his friend. He chuckled at Daehyun's shocked expression before turning to leave the room, his fingers fiddling with the apron strings.

Daehyun trailed along, voicing his worry of how the manager would know and punish him for it. Youngjae chuckled when Daehyun helped to tie the cords. He had such a way to call for help...

-------

One of his workmates came in a little late so he had taken his place at the cashier for the past half an hour after opening hours. He recognised one of the comers when he served a cup of coffee to him. For the past three months or so, he had seen him sitting (quietly reading) at the same corner of the room where he, himself usually take longer to clean the bookshelves for the sole reason of feeling comfortable there. Sometimes, he would catch the other taking glances at him, but he usually shrugged it off because for the next second, the latter's eyes weren't on him anymore.

He watched, somehow amused as the said comer's hand trembled when receiving the change and he seemed to be avoiding his eyes. Daehyun smiled at him before retreating back to the kitchen at his workmate's arrival.

Daehyun wiped his hands on his apron when the chef called his name as he was washing the dish. He approached him, flinging his bangs to a side and listened as he was instructed to go to the market to buy a fresh sack of coffee beans. Youngjae went along with him.

The air was chilly outside - still moist from the previous night's rain. Cars were barely passing as they walked by the sidewalk side by side. Daehyun's fingers tapped against his folded arms to the rhythmic sound of his footsteps, while Youngjae just walked casually, his hands in his pockets.

Their breaths were almost visible as they hurriedly walked to the address. Youngjae almost stumbled over a uneven pavement, wincing quietly when he realised Daehyun didn't see it happen.

When they arrived at the said market, they weaved past the slightly crowded area. The smell of fried food hovered in the air making both their stomachs growl. They wandered around the food stalls for a little while to grab themselves a stick of fried fillet.

The rich smell of coffee came not too far from where they were, so they made their way to the stall and called for the ahjusshi for the price of one sack of coffee beans.

"Ahjusshi, is there any other stall selling coffee beans?" Youngjae asked.

Daehyun looked at him, then back to the man who shook his head.

"No," he replied curtly. Subtle, but Daehyun caught the said man rolling his eyes. He brushed it off. "Well, how many sacks do you want?"

"Just one, ahjusshi," Daehyun said indifferently and dug into his pockets for the company's money.

He didn't see it when someone rushed past them and when the person did bump his shoulder hard, he lost his balance; Youngjae quick in his actions grabbed Daehyun's arm and caught him by his shoulders.

It was then that Daehyun noticed the wallet in his hand was gone.

A glimpse of blonde hair caught his eyes and he immediately made a run for the thief.

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Ooookay~ done with chapter one.

So the 'I' here isn't Daehyun's pov. Let's see... who is it?

Haha Thankyou for reading!