"Taemin time to wake up or you'll be late for school."

"Okay Umma, I'm up." I got up out of bed and opened my blinds. The sky was clear and blue and the sun shined bright through the window, warming my skin. Today was going to be a good day I told myself. I took a shower and got dressed before going downstairs for breakfast. My umma had made eggs, a waffle, and placed a large glass of banana milk next to the plate of food. Mmmm my favorite. As I was eating, my older sister Minah came down and turned the tv on.

"Hey squirt, how are you this morning?" She smiled.

"Got my banana milk so I'm happy." I smiled back. Minah was the best sister anyone could ask for. She always watched out for me and helped me whenever I needed it. She helped me on homework, problems I had in school, and I even remember her helping me learn how to ride a bike. I was so lucky to have a sister like her.

"The fugitive is still at large and could possible be armed and dangerous. If you see him, do not approach or you will be putting your life in danger. The best thing to do would be to call the police and wait for them to apprehend him. "

The news was going off. Apparently a man who killed six women escaped from prison and they had no clue where he was. I just finished my waffle and the rest of my banana milk without giving the news much thought. By the end of the day I was sure police will have caught him an that would be the end of that.

I stood up from my chair and took my dishes into the kitchen for them to be washed. 

"Thanks umma, the food was delicious." I told her while she was washing dishes.

"No problem Tae-baby, anything for my wonderful son." She said.

After leaving the kitchen, I went upstairs to grab my school bag and coat and then left for school. The school was only a few blocks from my house so I didn't have to take the bus and could just walk. As I walked I noticed how nice it was even though it was cold. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the light from the sun made everything look sharper. The slight breeze swayed the trees and the bottom of my coat a little. 

Once I got to the school I saw that Key's bus had arrived and kids were comming out of it. Key was my best friend and like another umma to me. He took care of me at school and always made sure I was doing the right thing. He'd tell me to say no to drugs and stay away from kids who looked like they'd be bad influences on me. Ever since our senior year started though, he seemed a bit different. He always looked sad now and he even lost weight. When I questioned him about it he just told me he was really busy and must have forgetten to eat on many occasions. I didn't pester him much after that, senior year was stressful and Key was fighting for the number one spot in our class to be Valedictorian.

I scanned the mass of kids for Key and then saw him. I smiled and tried following him behind all the students in between us. After everyone dispersed, I walked up the stairs to Key's first period class. 

"Hey hyung!!" I called out from the doorway. Key looked up from his notebook in a surprised way like he wasn't expecting to see me. I hopped over to him and he just smiled. 

"I'm okay." He said solemnly. I didn't like when Key was sad so I tried to pick his mood up. I told him about how this guy and girl got caught doing "it" at my other school I go to. He just laughed a little for me and glazed over until the bell rang. I said by to Key and then went to my first period class. 

The day didn't get interesting until the bus came for me to take me to my second school. For the first half of the day I go to the school with Key to take all the serious, boring classes like math and English, and then for the second half I go to this artistic school for kids who want to be actors, dancers, singers, creative writers, etc.  I loved it and got accepted my freshman year for dancing. Key always told me I'd make it as a professional dancer one day but I didn't think that was true. I just did it because it felt so natural to me. At this school I practiced hip hop, jazz, contemporary, and ballet. It was so fun. The day went by quickly from one dance routine to the next. Practice practice practice. We were having a showcase soon so were trying to make sure everything was perfect. Later on, when my last class finished, I waited outside of the school for my umma to pick me up. 

"Awesome job Taemin, see you tomorrow!" Someone called from behind me. It was Lee Jinki, or Onew we liked to call him. He was a singer here, one of the bests too.

I just waved to him and said, "Thanks Onew, see you tomorrow." Soon umma pulled up to the front of the school and unlocked the door.

"Hey Tae, how was your day?" She asked.

"It was great." I smiled. "We're almost finished with learning the new choreography in my hip hop class."

"Oh that's really good, I can't wait to see you perform next week. I know you'll be the best." She told me and pinched my cheek.

"UMMA!!!!" I whined.

"Oh sorry Tae, I keep forgetting you're 18 now and are practically an adult. You're still my Tae-baby though." She stated and then drove off. "Hey, did you want me to drop you off at home or would you like to come to the gas station with me? I have to get some gas so I can pick your sister up later and buy a few lotto tickets. I'm feeling lucky today."

"Sure, I'll come with you. I don't have much homework today so I'm free." I said.

"Cool." She smiled.

The gas station was close to the school and nowhere near home so it was better that we came here before going home. When we got to the gas station, Umma walked into the the small convenience store to pay for the gas and order her tickets. I got out and started pumping gas. 

I watched the numbers on the meter increase as the gas pumped into the car. Suddenly, I felt something hard against the middle of my back.

"You move or say anything and you'll never walk again." A cold voice said into my ear. I shivered and became still.

What was going on?

"Pull the nozzle out and drop it onto the ground." The cold voice said.

I did as I was told so I could avoid a bullet in my back. 

"Now open the door and-"

"TAEMIN!!!!!!!" Umma cried out.

I started to walk forward but was stopped when the man shot at my umma a few times. Each bullet missed her but I wasn't going to take the chance of letting him fire again. I turned around and pushed him back before realizing who he was. It was him, the man who murdered those six women and escaped from prison. He was a lot taller than I was and i knew there was no way I'd be able to take him down. I backed away and was stopped by the car behind me. That's when he raised his gun and swung it against my face. Everything went black after that with the only thing I could make out being my umma's voice screaming my name. 

***

I woke up with my vision blurred and an excruciating pain on the left side of my face.

What was going on, the last thing I remember was…

“Umma!!” I quickly pulled myself up until an awful pain shot through my head.

“Be careful!! I hit you pretty hard earlier.” I looked to my side and it was the man from earlier. He looked almost sorry with his large eyes. I backed away from him, not wanting to be hit again.

“No kidding. Why do you care how I’m feeling anyways? You’re a kil-“ He interrupted me by placing his large hand on my lips.

“That’s not true, I was framed and I’m determined to prove that.” He said quietly. I looked around us and noticed we were in a room. I was laying in a bed and he was in a chair next to it. The only light in the room came from a small lamp in a corner of the room.

Then the door opened and a woman appeared from behind it, “Is everything okay? I heard screaming.”

“Yeah Kahi, everything’s fine, he’s just now waking up.” The man said.

“Okay Minho, just tell him to keep his voice down. I don’t want the neighbors knowing I’m hiding an escaped fugitive and a kidnapped school boy in my house. This is a favor I’m doing for you because I know you could never have killed those women.” Kahi stated.

“Thanks, and he'll keep it down from now on.”

And with that, she closed the door and it was just us two again. So his name was Minho.

Minho's hand was still on my mouth and we were both really close now. He must have noticed it too because he soon took his hand off of me and sat back in the chair.

“Sorry you have to be caught up in this now but I saw you were vulnerable at that gas station and needed a car so I could drive somewhere I knew Kahi would visit and pick me up at.” Minho told me.

“So where’s my mom’s car then?” I asked in disbelief.

“I had to drive it into the river miles from here to cover my tracks.”

“YOU WHAT!?” He covered my mouth again.

“I’m starting to think you like when I do this.” Minho smirked. I pushed him back and tried getting out of bed on the other side. He grabbed my arm and pulled my closer to him. “I’m sorry but you can’t leave, I can’t risk you ruining anything before I prove my innocence. “

“Great, so what am I supposed to do while you do that?” I asked while still being held down by him.

“Well, you could help me.” He offered.

“Help you?” I asked skeptically.

“Yeah, the faster I prove my case, the faster you’ll be able to go home.”

I looked down at my hands and then up into Minho's eyes. He was waiting for me to reply.

"I have no other choice but to-"

"Im taking that as a Yes!" He interupted but still kept eye contact. I looked away and blushed.

I couldn’t believe what I was getting myself into.

Umma, please give me strength while I help this murderer prove his innocence.

YAY!!!! Chapter one is up and i hope you all enjoyed it. This and my other story "Fading Away" are like sisters  so if you want to read about whats going on with Key, then you can check that out. Other than that, stay awesome and hopefully the next chapter will be up soon.