Luhan inhaled the salty sea air and attempted to clear his busy mind while he watched the waves crash against the big rocks below him.  It’s been four months since he left Seoul and came to Busan, and he’s still not sure what he’s doing here.  He often questioned why he chose to come here, but at the same time he was pretty content with the decision. 

                Busan was a beautiful place, with crowded markets full of people he could watch, and a sea that he could lose himself staring at for hours.  Luhan had built himself a pretty steady life here in the last four months.  Of course, he had a seemingly endless supply of money in his account, that’s what happens when you had the profession that he used to have.  However, he was never one for grandiose living so he invested in a simple rooftop room.  The only thing that Luhan ever spent a lot of his money on was his looks, he owned designer clothing and the most expensive cosmetics.  Needless to say, the landlady was shocked to see such a rich looking man signing the lease for a room apartment, but she didn’t question him. 

                Luhan was quite happy with the room, besides the tiny kitchen and bathroom, he had a bed, a closet, and a big locked box for his knives stored in the corner.  That was all he needed.  And, despite probably never needing a job for the rest of his life, after a month of laying around doing nothing Luhan got extremely bored.  So, he went out and found the best job he could think of.  He could still remember the look on the ajussi’s face when he walked up to his fish stand and asked to work for him while pointing at the help wanted sign.  Luhan understood why the man was shocked, he was a nicely dressed, young, handsome man, yet he was asking an old man at a dingy market stand if he could work for him.  Eventually the man agreed and Luhan had been working there ever since.

                To say he liked it would be an understatement.  This job was the only thing keeping him sane, the old man who ran it was nice and although he seemed suspicious he never asked questions, and all Luhan had to do was stand there for most of the day gutting fish…gutting fish with his knives.  Yep, that was why he wanted this job and why he now cherishes it.  Using his knife to rip through fish after fish gave him a high that he only used to get from fighting, and…though he feels ashamed to admit it…killing.  All he’s ever known is violence and the way his knives felt when he held them tightly in his grasp.  Being able to still use them every day kept him calm, and staying calm was the most important thing to him. 

                Through his time of living a normal life and studying the people he sees every day, he couldn’t help but compare them to himself.  Luhan’s past was finally catching up to him and he sometimes felt like a monster compared to all the people around him.  A part of him feared that his training and career had destroyed any humanity he had in him, but as soon as those fears came he brushed them off again.  It couldn’t be true, Kai had gone through everything Luhan went through and yet he had managed to fall in love anyway.  There was hope. 

                Just hold on, Luhan.  He told himself, as he turned away from the sea.  You’ll find something or someone to make you human too.  He climbed off the rocks and walked the short distance through the bustling market to the fish stand. 

“Hello, ajussi.”  Luhan bowed his head in greeting. 

“Ah, back from your break that fast!”  The man said, raising his eyebrows in surprise.  Luhan nodded and quickly wrapped the black apron over his t-shirt and shorts.  “You work too much, young man.  I’ll let you work for one more hour, but then you’re getting off early.” 

“But ajussi-”

“No buts, don’t be stubborn like a child.  Look over there.”  He reached a wrinkled hand out and pointed to the right, Luhan followed his hand and saw that he was pointing towards the city.  “You came from Seoul, right?  Don’t you miss the city?  I bet you haven’t even ventured into ours.”  Luhan nodded solemnly, the old man was right.  “Go out there today, alright?” 

“Yes, ajussi.”  Luhan said with a pout, before turning around and whipping his knife out of his pocket and getting to work.  He cut each fish with precision and expertise that never ceased to shock his boss.  When the hour was over, he had a pile of freshly gutted fish on the table that was almost as high as his shoulder.  He carefully hung a few up on display before taking his apron off, washing his hands, and bidding the old man goodbye. 

                Luhan felt angry towards his boss for taking away his fun for the day, but at the same time he knew the man was just worried about him.  He decided to take this opportunity to do exactly what the man had suggested: check out the city.  He hadn’t before because honestly he didn’t want to.  He had bad memories with cities and was in the mood to avoid them, but that obviously couldn’t last forever.  He stuck his hands into his pockets and walked until the seaside market streets turned into busier streets, with cars driving here and there and establishments lining the streets.  He looked around and took in the familiar feeling of the busy city.  He spent around ten minutes just standing in one spot and gazing at the busy people all absorbed in their own lives as they moved throughout the streets and businesses.  All of them had stories, memories, lives, and Luhan envied them. 

                Luhan often wished he could be one of them, a person who had a purpose in their life, a person who paid no attention to anyone else, a person who was happy.  No, Luhan scoffed, you don’t deserve to be happy after doing the things you’ve done. 

                He finally moved from his spot and looked to the right, where his eyes were drawn to a large building with dark wood and big front windows.  Through the glass he saw aisles of books and a small café.  A smile formed on his face and he found himself moving there by instinct.  Luhan loved reading, it may seem strange but it was his hobby.  Books were always an escape from his not so pleasant life, they’re how he kept his strangely positive attitude all these years. And, despite his expertise on the internet, he still preferred reading from the book itself. 

“Hello, welcome to Busan Public library!”  A pleasant young employee called to him from behind the front desk, flashing him a warm smile.  Luhan just nodded to her and looked around in awe.  It was the biggest library he’d ever been in.  The first floor had an open floor plan with endless aisles and a cafe, and when he looked up he could see two more stories and a beautiful glass ceiling.  It was breathtaking and he silently thanked his boss for sending him away. 

                Luhan walked into the maze of aisles and, by force of habit, did a scan of the bottom floor.  Eight exits, four badly angled cameras, large aisles with empty space, this place would’ve been perfect for his old career.  But now, all of these observations were useless and Luhan mentally scolded himself for even noticing them.  He had been working hard to shake off his assassin tendencies, but after a life of training it was proving difficult. 

                He reached the back left corner where the aisles were thinner and taller, and the walls had no windows.  This is the spot, Luhan thought to himself with a smirk.  He grabbed a random book and sat in a chair at the corner table, it was just him and a dimly lit bubble of books.  He relaxed in his chair and pulled out his pocket knife.  As he started flipping through the pages of his book, he switched the blade out and began spinning it intricately between his fingers. 

                Luhan let the words of the book enter his head and soothe him as the blade in his hand gave him the peace of mind that his knives always brought.  Everything was perfect for this moment in time, until Luhan heard movement to his right.

“Excuse me.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Earlier*

                Sehun opened his eyes to the sight of the rising sun beaming through his window.  He smiled, it was beautiful just like every morning.  He jumped out of bed and stretched his long arms in the air, he was excited for today.  Today was the day he would take the first step in following his lifelong dream.  He had told his parents that his part-time job was to earn money for college, he knew they wanted him to go and be successful like his older sister who was studying abroad in Japan.  However, Sehun had a different plan in mind, and he was using every penny he earned to make that plan happen. 

                What Sehun wanted most in life was to be an artist.  He’d always loved art, and he knew it was his path in life.  His parents were loving and supporting parents, so he was confident that they would never reject his dream, but Sehun’s main priority in life was keeping his family happy and he knew that watching him struggle after a dream wouldn’t make them happy.  So, he kept it hidden, and planned on telling them if and when he succeeds. 

                Recently, Sehun had put some of his money to use and rented a small rooftop room to use as a studio.  It was just outside of the city so it had a perfect view of the ocean and the space was adequate for working on his paintings and drawings.  He had considered getting a space closer to his home, but this room was cheap and the ocean calmed him, he knew it would be perfect.  Today was the day that he was finally going to retrieve his art supplies from his best friend Lay’s apartment and move them into his new studio. 

                He left his room and leaped down the stairs two at a time, smiling widely when he saw his mother setting breakfast out on the table. 

“Good morning, umma!”  Sehun called out, as he sat in his seat and began shoveling rice into his mouth.

“Good morning!”  She laughed.  “Why are you so happy?” 

“Sehun oppa is always happy.”  His younger sister Narae said as she entered the dining room with a scowl.  “I don’t know how anyone could be happy this early in the morning.”

“Narae, it’s already nine, it’s not exactly early.”  Sehun said with a smirk.  Narae just glared before starting to eat her own breakfast.  A few minutes later they were joined by the rest of the family and Sehun relaxed to the sound of familiar laughs and bickering. 

                Sehun lived with his parents, his eleven year old sister, Narae, and his eight year old brother, Minsu.  Although Sehun was twenty and perfectly capable of moving out, he loved his family too much to go anywhere right now.  They filled his days with happiness and motivation, without even knowing it they were pushing him toward his dream. 

“Well, I’m off to work.”  Sehun said, standing and smiling at his family.  “The food was delicious like always, umma.”

“Thank you, sweetie.”  She replied, patting him lovingly on the arm. 

“Bye, hyung!”  Minsu waved his tiny hand at Sehun and grinned. 

“Bye, everyone.” 

                Sehun grabbed his car keys and left feeling light and happy.  He quickly drove to Lay’s apartment and let himself in with the spare key Lay had lent him.  Lay had gone to China to visit his family so Sehun couldn’t rely on him to let him in.  He ran to the back room and stuffed all of his supplies into a large bag, and his almost finished art works into another big bag.  In his other arm he held his easel, and left the apartment, struggling to carry it all down to his car where he stored it all safely into the back.  Sehun smiled, he was even more excited now.  However, his job came before moving his stuff in, so his studio would have to wait until later. 

                Ten minutes later he arrived at the library where he worked and parked behind the large building.  He secured his nametag onto the pocket of his collared shirt before running up the steps.  He used to question why the library workers had to wear nametags, it’s unusual.  But he soon discovered it’s because his boss, the owner, wanted to create an upgraded, advanced library experience.  All of the workers had to available to help any guest, hence, nametags.  He also changed shifts every so often from stocking shelves to working in the café, but today he was just putting away the returned books.  It was going to be easy and the day would fly by quickly, Sehun couldn’t wait. 

“Hi, Sehun!”  A female colleague greeted him as he entered the back office. 

“Hello, noona!”  He grinned at her before stuffing his keys into his pocket and grabbing a cart full of books. 

“You’ll have a pretty easy day today, Sehun.”  She said while texting.  “I only saw a few people come in.” 

“Awesome, but more could always show up!  Work hard, noona!”  He called as he left the room and entered the stacks of books right outside the door. 

                Sehun had grabbed the first floor cart to begin with, so he slowly made his way through the aisles, starting with the A’s.  He slid book by book into its place until he reached the back corner.  He didn’t like the back of the library that much, it gave him chills.  It was cold and dark, Sehun hated the dark.  There were only a few books to put away so Sehun sped up, wanting to get it over with.  He turned into the last aisle and froze.  Sitting at the table in the corner was a man, his face was buried in a book, and Sehun couldn’t see him well because of the shadows cast by the poor lighting.  However, Sehun could clearly see his hand, and more particularly, what was in it.  The man was spinning a knife around his fingers.  He seemed completely absorbed in his book, so he didn’t notice Sehun standing there. 

                Oh my god.  A knife!  What do I do?  Sehun began to panic, and beads of sweat broke out on his forehead.  He considered running away, but what if the man saw him run and attacked him.  No, Sehun.  He told himself.  Be a man.  You work here, it’s your job to take care of this.  He straightened himself and gulped before stepping forward.  The man turned toward him instantly, and Sehun almost bolted but he managed to stay still and speak.

“Excuse me.”  He said with a shaking voice.  “What do you think you’re doing?”  

a/n:  First chapter woohoo!  It's a pretty long intro but I hope you guys liked it^^  I was honestly surprised by how many subscribers I've gotten, thank you so much everyone!!!