The silence of the night was almost nostalgic. The gentle wind swiped against the silver haired youth’s cheek, his bangs swaying along with the wind as he stood in the alley, unmoving.

He was on the way back from work on foot and from the tapping sounds on the metal zinc rooftops of the shophouses, he knew he was being followed. He had cursed under his breath, wondering how they had found him. Heading to another direction away from home, he casually walked into the alley and halted under the shadow of the building. He did not have to wait long for his pursuer to reveal himself.

“Long time no see, DaeHyun,” the rough, familiar voice greeted the youth with his back against him.

Pulling the collars of his turtle neck higher to cover his nose and mouth, he let go a sigh and turned to face the man. Clad in full-black suit- the one he used to wear- the man did not differ much as the one DaeHyun saw three years ago. The scar on his left eye, rendering his eye useless, was still there, reminding Daehyun of the incident that had caused it. He flinched internally at the memory, cursing in his mind. In response to the man’s statement, DaeHyun swiftly nodded his head once, acknowledging him.

“It has been what, three years? You sure changed a lot from then…” the man commented.

“What is it that you want?” Daehyun interrupted him. For him to come here himself meant that he wanted something from DaeHyun. Being second chief, he had any will to order his underlings. But Daehyun knew he was not here alone with this man. From the corner of his eyes, he could pick out at least three of his followers in the pools of shadows lurking in the alley.

“Your appearance may have changed but definitely not your attitude,” the man continued babbling.

DaeHyun was getting impatient, but he kept his cool. Getting worked up was not worth it with this man- he knew it from first-hand experience. Knowing what was coming, Daehyun sighed internally once again. “Whatever it is that you want, my answer is no.”

Not letting the man to continue, Daehyun leaped and expertly landed outside the alley,  eight metres away from where he was. He sprinted the longer route home, trying to lose his pursuers. Once he was sure his pursuers had lost him, he slowed down to a jog and headed home.

~~~

After unlocking it, DaeHyun lifted the heavy, old wooden door to relieve it out of its stuck position and heaved it forward to enter the house. He looked around the corridor of the apartment thoroughly before locking it once again. Once inside, he headed in the dark into the shared bedroom. As he walked, his sharp hearing managed to pick out the rhythmic tidal breaths coming from the room. His eyes fell upon a sleeping teenager on the top bunk bed when he entered the room. The teen was sleeping messily; his blanket was tossed to the side, hanging from the frame of the bed, and his legs and arms were spread apart.

After settling down his things onto the small study table by the window, he approached the bunk beds. Smiling at the serene features on the teen, DaeHyun pulled the hanging cloth and settled it back onto the teen carefully, so as not to wake him. Daehyun abruptly stopped his movements when the teen moaned and stretched before turning to the side. Pausing for another three heartbeats, DaeHyun waited and made sure he was back in his slumber before he tucked the blankets back in place.

DaeHyun smiled warmly again at the teen, his only family left on this planet. The only one that shared his bloodline. JongUp. DaeHyun would do anything to protect him; be it having to teach him the hidden arts or to even  jump in front of him to take the shuriken. JongUp was young and he had a lot to experience in life while Daehyun… He shook his head to rid of the thought. Pushing aside the stray hair that covered his eyes, Daehyun patted JongUp’s hair twice before jumping down from the ladder of the bunk bed and headed to the toilet to wash up.

Tilting his head to several angles, he examined his own features properly in the mirror for a while. It was true, his features did changed a bit- no, a lot- since three years ago. The eyebags that was not there before was prominent against the pale skin of his features. His cheeks was slightly more sunken, making the frame of his features sharper. However, his shiny round eyes and pouty lips are still there, the two most prominent points on his face. Stepping back, he observed his full body. Although he may be a bit more skinner than before, the abs were still there, so was the biceps. Of course it was, DaeHyun had trained himself and JongUp to keep fit and to prepare themselves should anything occur. Stepping forward again, he examined his feature once more.

I still do look good, don’t I? He smirked, grinning to himself. Chuckling, he waved his hand dismissively and continued to wash himself. After washing and cleaning himself, he got dressed and went to bed, the clock showing 4 a.m.