There is a law against Taemin. Well, not specifically him, but people like him. The third child born to a family.

Taemin isn’t really sure if there are any other people out there like him, but there isn’t supposed to be anyway. Supposedly, after a woman has her second child, the doctor does things to her to keep her from having any more. If there somehow is a mistake and the woman does get pregnant again, however, she’s expected to get rid of it. That was what his mother had told him, at least.

The population police are the people that make sure third children are prevented. They patrol and get rid of any illegal children they come across. They also have a name for people like him, the third children that they kill. They’re called ‘Shadow Children, because no one knows they’re there, and no one will miss them when they’re gone. They only appear when no one is around, and lurk in the dark corners where no one can see them. They blend in with the shadows.

So, Taemin is forced into hiding. He’s forced into the attic and conceals himself in the darkness, because to the rest of the world, he doesn’t exist. 

Disclaimer: The Shadow Children series is owned by Margaret Peterson Haddix. This is simply fiction and an AU.