Wow~  We've reached Chapter 5 already!  I hope you're all enjoying the story.  Advanced warning for this chapter:

Prepare yourself for some feels.

Carry on :)

~Yuki ❄

There was one place in particular Yuki always went to when she needed to clear her head.  The S.M. building had a flat roof.  People never went up there because there was never a need to.  But Yuki went there quite often.  

And there she was, sitting down on the ledge, letting her feet dangle in the open-air.  One wrong move could send the girl straight to her grave; not like she cared.  The cool breeze and the breath-taking view always cleared the Yuki's mind.  "What a day. . ." Yuki said, sighing.

"You're telling us. . ." four voices chorused behind her.  Yuki sighed again.  She knew this was coming.  For the time being the five of them remained silent.  Yuki's eyes were looking at the city lights, and her brain was thinking about how crazy things had gotten.  She had not expected to see Minho again.  It had been years.  Finally someone broke the silence.

"Y-Y-Yuki?" a voice stuttered, "d-do you think you could g-g-get off the l-l-ledge?"

Yuki turned around to see a petrified Key, standing as far away from the ledge as possible.  He hated heights.  Without a second thought, Yuki hopped down from the ledge.  She sat down on the ground and leaned against it instead.  Onew, Jonghyun, and Taemin sat around her.  Key eventually moved towards her and sat down immediately, not wanting to look over the ledge.  Yuki decided to speak first.  "I'm sorry for yelling at you Taeminnie.  I didn't mean to. . ."

"It's okay Yuki Noona," Taemin said instantly, "I forgave you a while ago."  He hugged the girl, who returned the hug gratefully.

"Yuki. . ." Onew said softly, "what happened?"

"I mean. . . we know why you're so averse to getting a partner, but the way you acted towards Minho was downright hostile," Jonghyun said.

"We all like Minho a lot Yuki," Key explained, "but we've never seen him act that way around anyone.  Where do you two know each other from?"

Yuki let out a small sigh.  "I think. . . it's time I told you guys about my past," Yuki said.  The air around the group thickened noticeably.  Yuki had made friends with the boys during her training as a recruit.  Although she loved her close friends dearly, Yuki had always remained reserved.  Except for Soo Man no one knew about Yuki's past.  Onew, Jonghyun, Key and Taemin only managed to figure out that Yuki's life had been drastically changed when she turned 7.  The four straightened as Yuki took a deep breath and closed her eyes.  Then, Yuki began her story.

                                                                           ~Flashback~                                                                                       

"Umma!  Appa!" a seven-year-old Yuki said brightly, running into the living room towards her parents.  The man scooped up his daughter immediately and spun her around while his wife just laughed softly as she watched the father and daughter.  The happy little family sat on the couch.  The two parents started poking their daughter, who started laughing as she tried to squirm away from them.  "Umma!  Appa!  Noooo!  Hahahaha!" the girl squealed as her parents continued poking her.  Suddenly the phone rang.  Yuki's mother stood up and went to answer it while Yuki's father continued tickling Yuki.  

"Yeoboseyo?  Oh, good evening sir," Yuki's mother said, her voice suddenly becoming formal and crisp.  Yuki's father heard his wife's change in tone and stopped playing with Yuki to listen.  "Right now?  Is it that urgent?  Ah. . . I see.  I understand.  Yes sir.  We'll be right there.  Thank you."

Yuki's mother walked back into the living room.  She and her husband exchanged looks.  The atmosphere of the room suddenly became tense.  Even Yuki noticed.  "Sweetie, come here," Yuki's mother said, kneeling down.  Yuki complied and walked over to her mother.  "Listen honey, Appa and I have to go out for work okay?  Will you be all right on your own?"

Yuki nodded immediately.  She had stayed home alone before.  "Good girl," Yuki's mother said, "we'll be back soon.  I promise."

Yuki's father knelt down next to his wife.  "Be safe Yuki.  Remember, always keep fighting.  Never be weak.  Don't ever let anyone hurt you.  You mean something, Yuki, so don't let life go on without remembering that you have a purpose," he said.  Yuki looked at her father in confusion, but nodded her head all the same.  In all honesty, the man had no idea why he said all those serious things to his daughter.  I'm just going on another mission, he thought, it's not like anything's going to happen to me.  Yuki's father said those words in his head, but for some reason, he felt like he had a knot in the pit of his stomach.  Yuki's mother felt the same.  The two of them kissed Yuki. 

"Oh. . . before I forget, I have something to give you, dear," Yuki's mother said abruptly.  She couldn't shake the feeling she and her husband shared.  The woman went to her room and grabbed something off of her nightstand.  She walked back into the living room and chuckled lightly at the sight of Yuki's eyes so alight with curiousity.  "Close your eyes," the woman whispered to her daughter.  Little Yuki immediately complied and covered her eyes with her tiny hands.  Yuki's mother laughed softly, but tied the necklace onto Yuki.  When Yuki felt the slight weight of the necklace on her neck, she opened her eyes.  The girl laughed in glee at the sight of the dragon pendant.  She fell in love with it instantly.  "Even if we aren't here," Yuki's mother said, "this little dragon will keep you company, arasso?  He'll remind you of us every time you miss us when we leave for some kind of trip."  Yuki nodded eagerly, still holding the dragon pendant.

"We love you Yuki," her parents said in unison, "never forget that."

"I love you both too," Yuki replied fervently.  With one last hug, the husband and wife linked hands and walked out the door.

Seconds passed.

Then minutes.

Then hours.

Yuki's parents hadn't returned.

They'll be home soon, the child though to herself, maybe they're just taking longer than usual. . .  She gripped her dragon pendant securely and felt slightly reassured.

The clock struck 2 AM. 

The girl's eyelids drooped.  Then she fell into a fitful sleep.

Knock.  Knock.  Knock.

The little girl's eyelids fluttered open at the sound.  Then it came again.  Someone was knocking on the door.  "They're back!" Yuki exclaimed cheerfully.  She ran towards the door and opened it eagerly.  Her smile faded.  "Who are you?" she asked.  There was a man in front of her wearing sunglasses and a black suit.  Ignoring her question, the man addressed her. 

"Bul Yuki?" he asked.  His voice was crisp.  Business-like.  The girl nodded timidly.  Yuki was smart for a 7-year-old.  After all, she was the daughter of the top spies at S.M.  They were bound to educate her.  She knew something was terribly wrong.

"Take it away Hyori," the man said.  A woman came out from behind the alleged business man.  Her eyes softened at the sight of little Yuki.

"W-w-where are my Umma and Appa?" Yuki asked, "why haven't they come home?"

"Yuki. . ." the woman named Hyori said softly, "your parents. . . they were assigned a special mission in Busan.  We had found the trail of a North Korean spy in that area.  Your parents decided to track him.  They. . . they were lead right into an ambush. . ."

"Which hospital are they in?" Yuki asked immediately, "how badly are they hurt?"  The woman simply stared at Yuki.  She seemed unable to speak.

"No. . ." Yuki whispered.  "No!" she said louder, "they promised they would come home!  They said they wouldn't leave me!  You're lying to me!"  Yuki's voice had grown louder until she was shouting.  Hyori tried to hold Yuki but the little girl backed away.  "GET AWAY!  YOU'RE A LIAR!  UMMA AND APPA SAID THEY WOULD BE HOME!"  Tears were streaking down Yuki's face.  She gripped her dragon pendant again.  "Please. . . they gave me this. . . to think about them. . . but they said. . . they would come back. . ."

"That's enough," the man in the black suit said in an irritated voice.  He walked towards Yuki and tried to grab her, only to be met by a solid punch to his nose.  "GAH!" he yelled, "you little brat!" 

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Yuki yelled.  The man made another grab for her and succeeded.  He threw a still fighting Yuki over his shoulder and loaded her into the van.  Yuki just kept crying and crying. 

Such a burden to be put on a 7-year-old's shoulders, Hyori thought as she watched the van drive away.

The van stopped abruptly, yanking Yuki from her fitful sleep.  Her side of the car door opened and the man in the suit pulled Yuki out.  Her eyes were still puffy from crying so much.  He led her towards a large building and brought her inside.

The building was an orphanage.

"This is your new home," the man said emotionlessly, "behave yourself."  A woman came down the staircase.  Yuki took an instant dislike to her.  Perhaps because the woman was so fake.

"Don't worry," the woman said with a sweet smile plastered on her face, "we'll take very good care of her."

3 years.

Yuki lived through her personal hell on earth that they called an orphanage for three years.

The children were horrible.  They told all kinds of stories about how Yuki ended up in the orphanage.  They tried to tell Yuki that her parents hated her, so they abandoned her.  They told her that her parents were alcoholics with no jobs.  They told her so many horrible things.  They tried to steal from her.  They tried to physically hurt her.

Yuki got into fights.  Bad ones.  She was labeled as the orphanage's trouble maker.  The matrons, who were already evil, treated Yuki worse than trash.

Yuki was completely alone.

After 3 years of torture, Yuki decided to escape.  Her plan was dangerous and risky.  Yuki's room was on the fourth  floor.  There was a window in her room.  In fact, her room was the only room where the window was not locked and barred.  The matrons were probably hoping that she would jump out and kill herself.  However, if one paid close attention, they would notice that there was a branch of a very sturdy oak tree that touched Yuki's window.  

Yuki looked at the clock in her room.  It was midnight, June 10th.  With a start, Yuki realized that it was her 10th birthday.  "If birthday wishes exist," Yuki whispered to herself, "then my wish is to get the hell out of here safely and make a name for myself."  With that, Yuki grabbed a small sack from her pitiful excuse of a bed.  The sack contained 110,000 won.  That's as much as she was able to steal from the matrons without getting caught.  Silently, the little girl crept towards her window and opened it as high as it would go.  The cool breeze touched her skin lightly.  Yuki looked down, seeing a pit of blackness beneath her.  For a split second, unwanted thoughts crossed the girl's mind.

How easy it would be to simply step out into the open air and fall.  Fall into the black oblivion that would pull her away from this hell.  How peaceful it would be to simply be wiped from existance.  Never having to worry about anything ever again.  Then, another thought came across Yuki's mind.  A memory.

"Always keep fighting.  Never be weak.  You mean something, so don't let life go on without remembering that you have a purpose."

"No Appa," Yuki whispered to herself, fresh tears forming from her eyes, "I will never forget.  I will continue fighting.  I will escape and I will make a name for myself."  Yuki pulled her dragon necklace from underneath her shirt and stared at it.  "You are my connection to them," she whispered to it, "you've become my charm.  Here I go."  Yuki eyed the branch.  She wasn't afraid.  Yuki had never been scared of heights.  The branch seemed thick, but Yuki wouldn't know until she stepped on it right?  The girl perched herself on her window sill, then stepped out onto the branch.  

The girl sighed in relief.  The branch was perfectly capable of supporting the little ten-year-old's weight.  Yuki climbed across the branch until she reached the trunk of the tree.  Now came the hard part:  Yuki had to make it all the way down.  Taking a deep breath, the girl slowly started her descent.  The descent, it turned out, was not as bad as Yuki thought it would be.  Yuki used to climb trees all the time with her parents.  It was simply a matter of finding a grip.  There was plenty of branches on the way down, so Yuki didn't have many problems.  Finally, she reached the last branch.  In her relief, Yuki became careless.  She didn't test the branch.  Instead, she put her whole weight on it.

SNAP!

The branch broke.  Yuki scrabbled against the trunk, trying to find some kind of grip, but it was futile.  The girl went crashing to the ground.  The first thing Yuki registered:  I'm alive?  The second thing she registered was a sharp pain going up her ankle.  Before Yuki could cry out in pain, the lights in the orphanage .  "Oh crap!" Yuki whisper-yelled.  She didn't even bother looking down at her ankle.  She knew it was completely busted.  Instead, she limped behind the tree and held her breath, praying that she wouldn't get caught.  I've gotten this far. . . I can't give up, Yuki thought.  The sound of the main doors of the orphanage slamming open reached Yuki's ears.

"What the hell was that?" one of the matrons said.

"I don't know, it was probably just a cat or something you idiot.  I can't believe you disturbed my sleep for this.  Go back to bed!" the second matron snapped.

"Sorry. . ."

Luck must have been on Yuki's side that day.  Why?

1.  None of the matrons walked past the main doors to check the tree.

2.  No one noticed that Yuki's window had been opened.

"C'mon Yuki.  Move," the girl muttered to herself once the coast was finally clear.  The girl painfully stood up and started limping down the street.  Once she reached the edge of the curb, Yuki turned around and looked at the orphanage one last time.  She drew herself up tall, standing proudly as she stared at the building that had been her hell.  The wind blew slightly, causing Yuki's dark brown hair to blow to the side gently.  She was young, a mere child, yet her eyes held a much older person's suffering.  Turning her back on the orphanage, Yuki turned the curb and continued limping into the darkness.