“Hey, you!  You in the black hoodie!  Stop!”

I paid no attention to the jewelry store owner who was running after me, waving his fist in the air angrily.  His chubby legs couldn’t possibly allow him to catch up to me anytime soon.  It wasn’t him I was worried about anyways.  It was the Snatchers that could pop out from behind the street stalls, drug me, and take me away without anyone noticing.  With that thought in mind, I picked up my speed, weaving in and out of the crowd and the cars on the street and pushing past the curious onlookers.

The Snatchers were essentially slave traders, but they also served as the local police force.  Compared to the other cities I read about in the crumpled-up newspapers I found in the trash bins, I knew the Snatchers who occupied in the one I was currently residing in didn’t invest nearly as much time, money, or effort in human trafficking.  The usual patrols that would be positioned on the street corners of any other city were absent.  But it was always better to be safe than sorry.  Twenty years of living on the streets had taught me that.

It had also taught me that no matter how quick and agile you were, it never hurt to plan an escape route before executing an operation.  I easily darted into a tiny alleyway between two buildings and placed one foot on each wall.  Swiftly, I shimmied twenty feet into the air, using the chimney-climbing technique I had perfected years ago.  When I reached the top, I climbed onto the rooftop of the building to my left and crouched down so that no one could see me.  Within a few minutes, I heard the voice of the man who had been pursuing me.

“Where are you, you little rascal?!”  The hoarse scream echoed slightly in the empty space.  I peeked over the side to see the jewelry store owner struggling to fit into the small gap between the two buildings.  My wry smile was hidden beneath the black mask that covered the entire lower half of my face in order to protect my identity.  The man would never fit, no matter how hard he tried.

“We’ll circle around to the other side.”  Another man appeared behind the jewelry store owner and clapped him on the back.  “You stay here and cut him off in case he tries to escape the way he came.  He can’t have gone far.”  I heard the plump man mutter a few words of thanks and the other man, along with three or four of his comrades, rushed away without saying anything else.  A few other passerby who had noticed the chase stood guard with him, blocking the entrance so that no one could get in or out of their side of the alleyway.

My smile grew wider.  They wouldn’t find me.   This knowledge was based off of years of experience.  Whenever people were looking for something, the last place they would check was right above their heads.  They were such simpletons, all of the street folk in this city.  Especially that jewelry store owner.  After all, who would be stupid enough to trust a gloved, masked man looking around in a jewelry store?

Now that I was finally alone, I loosened my gloved fingers, which had been wrapped tightly around something during the entire chase.  An intricate bracelet of white gold and diamonds gleamed in the late afternoon sun.  I nodded in satisfaction.  It was genuine.  The jewelry store owner had assured me of that just moments before I grabbed it out of his hands.  Pocketing the bracelet, I sighed softly to myself and lay on my back against the roof tiles.  I would stay for another hour before coming down again.  By then, the people down below would have forgotten all about the theft.

In the meantime, I watched as the sun dipped below the horizon, illuminating the city for a few more minutes and causing the entire sky to glow as if it had been set on fire.  I lifted the bracelet out of my pocket again and held it up to the fading light.  The diamonds sparkled and flashed beneath the orange rays.  It would fetch a handsome price.  At least two thousand dollars, maybe two thousand and a few hundred if the owner of the pawn shop decided to be generous.  It would probably be enough to get me through the next several weeks.

I got up after the sky was dark.  There was a small trapdoor on the roof, built for whoever’s job it was to clean the roof of bird droppings.  Before I slipped through the opening, I took off my gloves and mask and stuffed them into my pocket, along with the bracelet.  The opening led to a winding staircase, which led to a storage room, and then an indoor night market, which was bustling with customers laden with street food and large shopping bags.  For a moment I considered stealing someone's purchases, but decided against it.  It wasn’t entirely necessary.  Besides, I had already taken my mask off, which was a risk in itself.  I brushed my dark hair out of my eyes and pretended to scrutinize a tray of egg bread, fresh out of the oven.  My stomach growled slightly, but I ignored it.  

A minute later, I walked out of the place, calm, cool, and collect.  That was the trick: to make it look like you belonged, to let yourself blend in with the crowd.  That way, no one would ever question your presence.

When I passed by the alleyway the men had been guarding, there was no one there, just as I had expected.  I smirked, the corners of my mouth turning up.  I walked for over half an hour until I reached a small area under a large bridge that stretched over a vast river.

My belongings were well-hidden beneath a few bushes that grew by the edge of the river.  I changed into a set of spare clothes: a dark blue tshirt, a black gingham shirt, and a pair of black jeans.  I folded the clothes I had been wearing and placed them in my backpack.  I would throw them away the next day.  The city was inhabited by millions of people, but there was always the chance of someone recognizing me if I wore them again, and I had trained myself to take precautions.  It didn’t matter how safe it seemed.  One could never know when the worst would happen.  Besides, since I had made a large profit today, I could buy another set of clothes if I felt the need to do so.

But the most important thing to me was to get enough food to survive.  I never went to the supermarket or to restaurants, preferring instead to live off of street food.  It was cheap, but unfortunately, it only lasted for a little while.  Therefore, food and water was always my first priority.  Clothes and other items could always wait until later.  Chances were, I would leave the city as soon as my money ran out.  I never stayed in one place for more than a few months.  It was far too risky because eventually, a Snatcher would realize who I was, and they would take me.

Dinner was a few rolls of kimbap that I had purchased earlier today with my last bit of money.  The very next morning, I decided, I would pawn the bracelet for more, as these were my last morsels of food.  When I had finished eating, I took the time to organize the things in my backpack.  There wasn’t much to organize at the moment, but it was a habitual thing.  I took out my knife, my wallet, my phone and my charger, my notebook, several pens, and last of all, a fleece blanket.  I slowly put everything back in my backpack except for the blanket.

I leaned back against the concrete wall.  Above me, cars and motorcycles and trucks thundered across the bridge.  But I had grown accustomed to the city buzz that never seemed to fade, even in the early hours of the morning.  There was nothing else for me to do at the moment and I was tired anyways.  But before I allowed myself to slip into a light doze, I pulled out a tiny silver ring that hung from a leather cord around my neck, hidden beneath my tshirt.  The only remnant I had from my past.  I held the ring between my fingers, bowed my head, and muttered the same prayer I said every night before I went to sleep, day after day, month after month, year after year.

“Mom and Dad, please watch over me while I sleep, and please don't let the Snatchers find me.  Please try to understand that I only live like this because I have no other choice.  Both of you were taken from me when I was a child, and I don’t remember anything from back then.  Please try understand that I take only what I need to ensure my own survival.  This is the only way I can survive.  Wherever you may be, dead or alive, I hope you are happy and well.  Good night to both of you.”

With those words, I wrapped my blanket around me tightly and closed my eyes.  I blocked out the bustle on the bridge above me.

What I did next, I knew it wasn’t actually happening.  Even so, every single night, right before I drifted off to a half-sleep, I liked to pretend it was real.

             “Good night, Donghae,” I whispered to myself.  I liked to pretend it was my missing parents saying this to me and not my own soft voice, which at times like these, seemed small and insignificant compared to the hectic world I lived in.

Author's Note: Hi my readers/subscribers and welcome ^^ the first chapter is up and I got an amazing poster to go with it XD

This chapter is pretty short compared to how long the later chapters are going to be like, but this is just setting the stage for what's to come.  This actually isn't the style of writing I'm used to, but I'm pushing myself to try out more genres so I can develop as a writer... or at least I like to think of myself as a writer lol XD

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please don't forget to comment and tell me what you thought of this ^^

Thank you for reading, comment, subscribe, and upvote if you haven't already and have a lovely day everyone ^^

Updated 2/26/15