Chen hopped to his feet, brushing the gravel from his pants. A breeze sweep across his face leaving behind a trail of cold kisses. He huddled, pulling his hood over his head. Shuddering, he paused to watch his hyung. Xiumin hadn’t moved in the last twenty minutes.

As the sun ducked behind the skyline, Chen headed towards the city. Perhaps he should’ve said something but it was cold. Chen was only thinking of shelter while Xiumin appeared to be a million miles away.

“It looks like you didn’t get through to him,” a voice stated flatly, pulling Xiumin back to reality.

“No,” Xiumin shook his head. “I didn’t. To our misfortune, he fits his role perfectly.”

It wasn't surprising; Chen was made for his position after all. They all were; at least in the beginning, conditioned to match the role they were created for. Collectively, humans had a limited imagination. They could not fashion up a contrary deity to save their lives.

“Is it safe to leave him like that?”

Xiumin turned to observe the voice. Suho, to whom the voice belonged, was leaning against the trunk of a tree that loitered the edge of the mountain.Brand names sat on his wrist, chest, and feet as was expected from a god of wealth. He wore the clothes as if they were made of cheap synthetic material rather than the silk that comprised them. His face was plain in comparison, certainly it was above average, but unadorned. And his lips were pressed into a thin line.

“Yes,” Xiumin remarked. “It is safer to leave him to his own. The way he is now; he would most likely join them.”

“I see,” Suho sighed. “It's that bad.”

Xiumin thought back to his earlier conversation.  

He had kept quiet because he could not deny Chen’s words. They were true enough; humans were irreparably flawed.

Mankind was sinful. It bathed in greed and drowned in lust. It danced with pride and played with wrath. Married to sloth, it flirted with gluttony and courted envy.

Man was weak. Made of soft skin and brittle bones, man was a toddler in a world of ferocious adults. All they had was numbers. . . . Even that turned against them, there were too many. . . .They turned against another.

Despite this, Xiumin reflected, no, to be correct, he believe that there was more to them than their flaws.

In his short hundred years of life, Xiumin had seen humanity commit unforgivable atrocities. He had been humanity fall to its darkest depths and have the audacity to crawl their way back up.

Xiumin shifted his weight, grinding the dirt under his feet into dust. It was hard to put into words. . . .But humans were not just their flaws. . .

“He is still young,” Xiumin said, more to himself than to Suho.

An itch clawed at his throat forcing Chen to sneeze. By the time he had entered Seoul, the sun had obscured itself beyond the curvature of the Earth. Streets were b with bundled up people rushing home, entering bars, and such to escape the chill that the night air brought. Chen would’ve followed them if had more money in his pockets. Gods aren’t paid well. Few people left offerings out nowadays.  

He knew that two streets down was a coffee shop that sold good brew for a low price. The unfavorable placement of the store and the limited menu kept the store under the radar. It was a little out of the way but it was warm. Chen ducked into an alley to avoid the bustling crowd. It was a shortcut or it would’ve been if a bunch of men weren’t blocking it.

Three men, bulky and wide, with identical shaved heads were huddled around a much thinner man with black hair. Their hands were obscured by low metal trash bins but Chen could tell that the smaller one’s feet weren’t touching the ground. It took a minute for Chen to realize that it was extortion.  

Humans were so stupid, Chen thought, to steal from their own kind.

By chance, he locked eyes with the victim and his thoughts crept into Chen's head. Chen as a general rule kept his mind closed off. Humans' thoughts were mundane, petty, selfish, and boring. But every now and then a strong mind would unconsciously pull him in.

There was the expected fear and desire to be saved. The hope that Chen would find a way to help him. However, there was also concern for Chen's wellbeing, a few self sacrificing thoughts that Chen wouldn't be pulled into this mess.That was unusual. But not strange enough for him to intervene, there had to be an abnormal human in population every now and then. He wasn't a scientist; there was no reason to save a rare specimen. He took the victim's mental advice and he turned to leave the way he entered when something  occurred.

A bolt of honeyed brown hair pushed past him shouting, “COPS.”

The men stiffened, creating an opening for the wiry man. He drove into the space and dragged the black-haired one out.

“RUN, LAY!”

“Luhan,” Lay responded with as much surprise as the men behind them felt.

And then the two were off. They nearly knocked into Chen again in their frantic escape. He was almost too interested to move out of the way.

That was a first. He’d never seen a human do something like that. At least, when not when that wasn’t their occupation. . . unless they were brash and impulsive. Maybe the brown- Luhan was the latter, but he was smart enough to create a diversion.

The men had barely caught up in terms of wit and now turned in pursuit. He stepped aside to allow them passage. Chen just wanted his coffee.

He paused. Well, it was the first time he'd seen two abnormalities in one place that acted so interestingly. . . He was out of practice anyway. On a kind impulse, Chen snapped his fingers and focused his mind on the pursuing group. He felt a buzz of power snake up his arm and sent it on its way. There was a loud thud from behind him followed by several gasps.

"I always thought that tree looked unstable.”

"Oh god! I was standing there a second ago... "

Chen turned his head to observe his hand work. A large branch was clinging to the sidewalk in front of the men. Shrapnel littered the floor after leaving shallow love bites on the men. Chen frowned; he really needed to improve his aim.

The growl of his stomach demanded his attention. Using his abilities was energy consuming. Chen continued on his way.

Clattering of something that struck against his shoe drew his attention. Bam, it hit a nearby trash can. Chen walked up to it. A wallet, that the group must've left it behind, sat beaten next to the rubbish. Chen picked it and opened it. Barely registering that the face on the student id was Lay's, Chen examined the low quantity of money in the pocket. Shoving the thin black object in his pocket, Chen continued towards the Minute Cafe.   

A/N: I hope you liked this. I decided to post early since I am done with it. Comments and criticism are welcomed. (I should have the next chapter done by next week too).