Prologue
In which a stork leaves Kim JiWon his very own bundle of joy.

December 3rd, 2015
05:12am

A cold breeze of early morning caused thin curtains to sway. Stirred by the sudden change in temperature, the room owner grunted in discomfort as he tried to roll up in his covers. His patting around grew more vigourous until he had been dragged back to consciousness. Head still spinning and eyes unable to focus from the prior night’s activities, the young man eased himself up into a sitting position. Clinging to the edge of the mattress, Kim JiWon tried to stop his feeling of seasickness.

Several hours ago, he had been celebrating a friend’s twentieth birthday, and that specific friend had been Shin KiSe. Of course, to anyone in his circle of pals, that would tell them everything about why JiWon felt as if he was about to die. However, if you did not have the privilage of being part of the group, you would wonder to no end how the boy a few weeks short of becoming an adult himself was wearing a tank top which was ripped down the middle, had thick, black eyebrows painted on, and was rocking from side to side like he was out of his mind before the sun had even risen.

Of course, the brief answer was this: Shin KiSe took partying to a whole other level.

Not put off by the fact that it was still illegal for the majority of their friends to drink alcohol, the lot of them had met in town for a meal at four o’clock in the evening, then hit the norebang at around 6pm. By 7:30, their Maknae, ChanWoo, was already wasted off alcopops and belting out Chris Brown songs - Which led to him being dropped on his doorstep and then left there after HanBin had rung the buzzer and gave it legs like he was playing ‘Knock-a-door, run’.

9:15 - The group had made a short stop at a park where DongHyuk and YunHyeong were arguing for something with a little more life in it, rather than to sit around in a kid' play area like creepers; Which had somehow led to the older friends sneaking the younger ones into a seedy rock club on the other side of town. By the time 10:30 had rolled around, JinHwan was overtaken by drunken crying, HanBin had gained a good slathering of eyeliner and was moshing with the best of them, and the pair whom had asked for excitement were taking part in bodyshots with tattooed women. Stood at the bar,  JunHoe and the eldest female in their group: DaIn, argued about who could drink more - which was another dangerous combination all by itself considering the woman in question drank bourbon in her morning coffee, and every coffee after that. Meanwhile, JiWon kept the birthday girl company in their booth.

Honestly, that would have been bad enough in any kind of enviroment which had booze, but as fate would have it, the female pair were regular patrons of the establishment and thus, more and more drinks kept being brought by scary guys with piercings and dressed in leather as if they were tributes.

Closing his eyes, yet not feeling the benefit, JiWon groaned from the aches and stings coming from every inch of his body. He couldn’t even remember the majority of their journey back to the apartment block. He could handle his drink. He really could. But if he was ever invited out to drink with both women at the same time again, he wouldn't. He'd said that before, but next time, there would be no way in Hell he would accept. He didn’t know how they did it. They were still going; he could hear the music pounding from next door.

Ah, that was right. He almost forgot to mention that he lived in such close quarters with all of the people he considered his friends. Aside from ChanWoo, whom lived around the corner with his parents, everyone else shared the same apartment block. It had its downsides, of course, but more often than not, it was a Godsend that he had people whom cared about him so close.

A couple of years ago, JiWon had moved to his Mother’s homeland alone to make a name for himself in the music business. Most of his friends had the same goal in mind, but they weren’t really fans of the whole prim and proper idol image that would come with joining a big, fancy company. Instead, they were currently hiring out studios and taking on crappy clubs to get their names out there.

Almost lost in the fantasy that seemed to grow bigger and bigger each time he conjured it up, JiWon squinted at a clonk that very nearly sounded like a knock on his front door.

Dungk dungk.

There it was again.

That definitely wasn’t the bass of a specific American Rock-Rap group causing the foundations to tremble with hefty bass. He thought about ignoring the bang on the beaten barrier but last time he had done that, it had been serious: JunHoe had been begging for help after he’d bust his nose on the kitchen counter after YunHyeong had dared him that he couldn’t jump from the sofa to the counter without touching the floor. That time, he'd had to bike it across town during rush-hour while the taller man did nothing but nasally complain down his ear and bleed on his back. Hopefully, this time, it would just be HanBin having forget his keys again. He really wasn’t in the state (mentally, or physically) to be explaining to doctors how DongHyuk had gotten a blueberry stuck up his nose, like the time before last.

Forcing himself to get up - and trying not to spew in the process - JiWon swayed and stumbled through the dark. Hand on the lock at the ready, he tried to peek through the spy-hole only to see an empty hallway. Already set in his mind that if it was one of his buddies ing around, he would punch them in the throat, the apartment owner twisted the handle and yanked open the barrier.

Being met with nothing but a wall of frigid air despite looking left and right, JiWon stepped out to take a better look around only to trip over his own feet. Face-planting the cheap, scratchy carpet, the brunet’s frame vibrated while it tried to remember how his body functioned as the alcohol levels tried just as hard to poison him. Grunting as he collected the senses he was able to, he caught sight of something dark by his left hip. Contorting to get a better look, the young man twisted onto his side. Slowly, and painfully, scrambling to his knees, he was met by a car seat. A baby’s car seat - and it wasn’t empty!

Throwing himself back against the door frame and wincing when his shoulder struck off the solid frame, the brunet yelped. Looking around manically in his spasm, JiWon couldn’t comprehend what was going on. If it was a prank, the offenders were doing a good job of freaking him out. But to leave a baby out in the hallway at this time...It was winter, for Christ’s sake. Rational side kicking in through the booze-haze, JiWon crawled over to the bundle which had nearly ended his own precious life. Checking to make sure he hadn’t hurt the child, he noticed the folded slip of neon yellow paper poking out of one of the many blanket folds.

Taking the paper, the brunet kept eying the sleeping bundle as he unfolded the note. It must have taken him at least four attempts to read the first, blunt line, and even after that, the new information refused to compute.

‘This may come as a surprise to you, but this is your child.
I’m sorry I can’t stay around to explain more.
He is yours to do with as you wish now. He has no one else.
Sincerly, H.’

Eyes wide with panic and mouth ajar in astonishment, JiWon’s hand dropped to the icy floor. ‘Herp derp’ written all over his face, the brunet could only gawk. This was the best prank ever. Or maybe a hidden cam? Swallowing hard at the sight of the baby which couldn’t be more than four months old, the victim was dumbstruck. Hearing a rabble of slurred voices grow closer, JiWon lost his mind. He didn’t think, he just grabbed. Shooting to his feet like Bambi taking his first steps, the brunet snatched the handle of the car seat, and the bulging mailer bag beside it, and then bolted inside. Flailing his leg backwards to shut the door with his foot, the homeowner galloped into the sitting room and spun around in wait.

Five minutes passed of standing in the dark, his chest heaving and his grasp full, before JiWon finally felt as if he could relax. Well, not really relax. He was an idiot, but even he knew that this was no time for anything less than petrified. Nevertheless, he placed the car seat down on the floor carefully, a foot away from the sofa and jumped back away from the timebomb. Pacing back and forth, the home owner tried to fathom what to do about his situation. It’s not to say he was the type to instantly believe such a brief note, but it was no secret he like to spread the love, either. It’s not like he was one of those guys who slept around for the sake of upping his number of screws, but after a show, when he was pumped up and girls screamed his name...One thing kind of led to another...But he had always been safe. He wasn’t reckless, and he did take into consideration how his actions could ruin a girl’s life if he wasn’t smart about his urges.

Then, through the beer sopped memories, he remembered one exception: Gyu HaeMi. ‘But that was a long time ago’. He shook his head until the reality of his mental confession cleared his view. Being struck with soberness as a different type of sickness shook his frame, JiWon whimpered as his head fell into his hands. Mulling over the math work, the brunet hummed and ahed. ‘Around February last year...Plus nine months...November...’ He glanced to the sleeping baby who wasn’t quite a new born. ‘Give or take a month or two...’ At least the time range was about right.

Stirring from its slumber, the baby squirmed in its wrapping.  It wrinkled its eyes, and gurgled sounds filled the dark, cold apartment.

‘This isn’t happening...This is not happening!’ It was one thing to temporarily have a sleeping baby in your sitting room in the early am, but once it woke up...that was a different matter altogether.

Nineteen year old Kim JiWon, was not prepared. He was not prepared for many things in life - if he was, he wouldn’t be him. But even for him, this was something else. He was used to waking up in strange places after drinking. Waking up with makeup on, missing his pants were not uncommon; once, he had even woken up at a bus stop in his underwear with half of his head shaved, but never a baby on his doorstep. He was just told he was a Father via a shabbily written note in the dead of a winter morning.

How could it have happened?

Well, even he knew how it possible, but still. He was still a kid himself. He had dreams of becoming part of something big, which was why he had moved to Korea in the first place. How was he supposed to raise a child by himself? Dropping down onto the well-worn two seater sofa, JiWon rested his elbows on his knees as he rubbed his face of his hands manically. Taking a more-than-needed breath, he blinked a few times. There was still no magical cure-all for his predicament, which he so desperately prayed for in his greatest time of need.

Maybe it wasn’t even his baby. Yes, that's right! Maybe it was all a lie. Maybe it was a ploy to ruin him.

But then he looked at the child in the car seat at his feet, and he knew that there was no denying it. That chubby bundle with ita eyes squeezed shut and delicate mouth open to show a toothless gurgle, was definitely his alright.

Well, .

Updated: 9th July 2015 - 19:37

Updated: 24th March 2019 - 20:33