[his POV]

I walked swiftly towards something that had caught my eye as soon as I had jumped down from the pile of wooden crates. Something was shimmering in the corner near the garbage bins. As I walked towards it, I could clearly see it was shining brilliantly like a jewel. It had a blue hue about it, dark and light at the same time. It was wedged between two crates labeled rat poison. Gingerly, I peeled back a bit of the bloodied handkerchief wrapped around my arm to see its current condition. To my relief, it wasn’t bleeding anymore. I tested it by trying to lift up the heavy wooden box. I could feel my warm blood trickling down my forearm. I sighed, and decided that it’d be easier to just squeeze through the gap between the crates. I awkwardly slid through without much trouble. I crouched down, my hand closing around the glimmering object. It felt cool against my sweaty palm. Slowly, I began to open my palm and stared at the beautiful gem that was twinkling at me. I could tell that this was worth a lot; a couple million won. I stood up and accidentally knocked over the box of poison. The content spilled out over the floor, and my eyes widened. Countless valuable jewels littered the ground, and I impulsively reached towards the nearest ruby. I turned it around between my index and thumb, admiring its beauty.

Tick tick.

A faint sound, barely audible snapped me out of my trance. My eyes darted around, looking for the source of the annoying sound. I began to dash away from there, not looking back once. I knew what was coming, and I better get away from there as quickly as possible. A scream filled the ominous air just before I heard a loud explosion in the direction I had just fled. It’s lucky I got out of there before the bomb exploded, but Tae Kyung probably heard it. We have to leave this place NOW. Desperately, I called out to Jessica. “Jessica! Jessica! Where are you?” A muffled reply came from behind me. I turned around, and hustled towards the lockers.

I saw Jessica and another body sprawled on the floor. Jealousy flooded through me and I pushed the lump off of her. “Are you okay Jessica?” I asked, concerned. “Uh…yeah. I’m alright, but that boy needs our help.” She said, her hand holding her head, still in a daze. Only then did I notice the bruises that covered the fragile body of the little boy. “Who is he? Where did you find him?” I questioned Jessica. “In the locker, and I don’t know. He just fell on me. But we have to help him.” Her voice pleaded. I nodded in agreement. I reached towards the boy, and he flinched. He was shivering from fright, and his arms were wrapped around his knees with his head tucked in between. “It’s okay, we’re here to help. I’m just going to untie you, araso?” I said softly, not trying to alarm the boy. I began to work on his wrists, trying to undo the intricate, tightly woven knot.

“What’s your name?” I asked. His mouth opened, but no words came out. “I’m Jessica. And this is Jonghyun,” She gestured towards me, nodding encouragingly at the boy. “What’s your name?” “My…my…my…name….is…. L-lee..Tae-tae…min….” The boy whispered as I got off the rope. He rubbed his hands over his wrists, amazed that I had actually done that. Next, I continued to do the same with the ones around his ankle. “What are you doing here?” After a long pause, he began,“I was walking home from school one day when I overheard a conversation I shouldn’t have. The two men saw me and questioned me about it. I denied it, but this guy with a faux-hawk captured me and brought me here.” The boy answered; his voice louder than before, but I still had to strain to hear it. The rope around his legs loosened, and he stretched them. Cracking sounds came from his joints, and he rubbed them as if that would make it better. “Hey, what day is it today?” “It’s May 25th.” I responded. “Has it already been two weeks?” Taemin’s voice squeaked, sounding like he was on the verge of tears. “Don’t worry; we’ll get you back home safely.” Jessica assured. “Tell us more about the man who brought you here.”

An idea came to me, and I searched through my pockets until I found what I was looking for. I offered a handful of candy I had from the other day, and Taemin eagerly accepted it. After a few sniffs, and a mouthful of candy he told us. “He just suddenly put me in a sack and started beating me up. Then when we were here, he just stuffed me in here and said, ‘This is what you get kid’ in this really scary tone. Strange thing is that he suddenly peeled back his face to reveal this other face.” Jessica and I stared at each other in realization. It could only be one person, Tae Kyung. “What was the conversation about?” “Um… something about a diamond heist or something.” The boy mumbled, chewing on a Jolly Rancher. It hit me. All those gems I saw must all have been stolen. There was a long awkward silence for awhile until Jessica decided to break it. 

“Tell us about you? Do you have a favorite singer or ice cream flavor, or perhaps who’s your hero?” Jessica questioned, trying to make things more comfortable for the little boy. “Umm… I like DBSK hyungs. Oh! And Suju because they are fun to say. SUUUUUUU-JUUUU~” The boy’s laughter was light and heartfelt, and Jessica and I also began to laugh, momentarily forgetting about the danger we were all in. “I like napole ice cream?” “Nap-pole?” I cocked an eyebrow at Taemin. “Never heard of that before. Could you describe it.” “Ummm… well it has the strawberry, and the chocolate, and the vanilla.” Jessica snapped her fingers. “Oh! You mean napoleon ice cream!” “Aigooo. What a silly witty boy.” I ruffled his brown hair playfully. “Aish, this ahjusshi!” I drew my hand back, as if I had just been shocked. I heard Jessica try to stifle her giggling before her hand. I threw a glare at her, and she smiled innocently at me. “I’m not an ahjusshi. I’m probably only about seven years older than you. Like a hyung.” I tried to reason. “Yeah, he’s not that old.” She added in. “Well you’re pretty old ahjumma.” Jessica’s jaw hung open, and I snickered. “This kid!” She said. “I was just kidding~ That scary guy was like a harabogee!” With that, I remember that the harabogee was after us. “We have to leave. Right now.” I said, standing up. “Where fu?” The candy was making it difficult for the boy to speak.

“Anywhere but here. That guy who came put you here are after us.” I explained with a note of urgency in my voice. He’s probably around here after that explosion. “What was that loud boom sound?” Taemin asked, as if reading my mind. “It was a bomb, and if we don’t leave now, Tae Kyung is going to find us.” I pulled Taemin to his feet, the boy was so tiny. Just like a younger brother. I smiled to myself at the thought.

Jessica held one hand while I held the other and the three of just made our way in the direction where I had seen another exit. There were boxes piled high everywhere, and it would be easy to lose each other if we didn’t stay close. “Ouu~ A broken door, impressive for a wimpy girl and an equally weak guy.” The hairs on the back of my neck rose, and my heart beat accelerated. Had he found just already?

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait! Been busy with numerous projects and tests. Enjoy this short chapter! ^^ 

♥ s w e e t s u r r e n d e r