living-

Sehun was never one to thrive for an eventful life, which was something that he believed not often found in the world where he sought his living from. Careless freefalls into the chasm of unknowingness and pernicious compulsions that charmed those weighed down by reality were something that could be expected of the society that he was in. There was an imaginary barcode burned on a patch his neck, a brand to affiliate him with—a name that could send him straight into the bottom of a safety net or an utmost danger, no matter how apathetic he was toward the battle spread before his eyes. He wasn’t a warrior—he clearly wasn’t one of those people donning weapons like a row of must-have accessories coming from designer brands. He was more of those mechanics, contributing to the performance from behind the curtains, emblazoning the overall appearance with the needed touch. He was still a utensil, a tool made to craft legends out of their army, but he was never one of the men put on the front line. And he didn’t wish to be, for the predicaments that entailed were far too much to handle, and it could incite the venomous impulse that had been lying inert within him.

He was never one to expect too much from life, since if he was to turn around and look back, the gravel road that he’d travelled up to this point had already had too many sharp cobbles, enough to make him bleed to death by rupturing the flesh of his feet. All that he craved at that moment was none other than peaceful days, where there was no wound to bandage, just his drying scars as a reminder of how far he’d come. Therefore, he didn’t mind whenever he had slower days, when his well of inspirations was as desiccated as his refrigerator, believing that even slower days had their own positives. Considering that he didn’t have any shift allocated that night, he had more than enough time to kill by wandering in the outside world, tasting the simplest form of normality that he often forgot still existed out there outside his window.

After days of not having his creative juice flowing, crumpled papers were scattered across his bed and the carpeted floor around it. He promised himself that he would clean them off later, when he returned from his small-scaled journey. He put on his worn out chucks, black but now resembled faded muddy half-brown-half-grey, the laces shabby. Maybe when he stopped being lazy he’d purchase a new pair of shoes. But for now, he still loved these ones.

He finally crawled out of his nest after three consecutive days of not taking even a single step out of it, confining himself within the same walls with the hopes of concocting a new weapon but he’d ended up spending the majority of his waking moment in front of the plasma TV, hands loyally cradling the controller as eyes idly fixed on the screen flashing in highly defined colors. He had to terminate his hermit lifestyle anyway because he needed food to nurture his necessity—it was just about time.

The sunlight that flooded the pavement made him squint, the light too bright for his liking and he might’ve adopted some kind of vampire physiology after switching his day and night around in order to accommodate his job. He ambled aimlessly on the sidewalk, following his (non-existent) instinct, until he found something that attracted his attention. It was a crowd, gathered in a place that seemed like a university, but if there was any kind of board to indicate the identity of the institution, it was covered by the colorful stalls that lined down almost every single nook and cranny of the place that wasn’t packed with people.

"Welcome," She repeated the phrase every time she held out a guidebook, the motion coming naturally now. People would either take the booklet quietly - some saying a polite thank you - or would ignore her completely in favor of staring at the vibrant booths on either side of her. Sighing slightly, she readjusted the large pile in her hands, deciding she had been at this part of the activities for too long. And people were too caught up in their surroundings too even acknowledge her.

Walking behind the booths, careful not to knock anything important over on her way. Coming out from behind the last booths at the end, she hesitantly pushed through the crowd, muttering apologies and being careful not to drop the guidebooks. Atsuko came out where the crowd died down, allowing her for more breathing room.

Being the clutz she was, she wasn't paying attention to where she was walking, too focused on keeping the large pile of guidebooks in her arms from falling. So Atsuko yelped slightly in surprise when she ran face-first into someone's back. Her books went flying and she fell to the ground in surprise. "I-itai.." She murmured the word in Japanese, rubbing her back painfully. Looking up at the person she bumped into through her bangs, she grimaced embarrassedly, quickly moving her legs around to bow slightly at her waist.

Noticing a few dog toys lying around, he quickly bent over and started picking them up, muttering about messy dogs. “Is there anything you’d like to drink? I have tea, coffee, homemade juice, water…" He trailed off a little, thinking of the other drinks he could offer. “I don’t know if you’re legal or not but we have wine and a few bottles of beer." Sheepishly, he smiled, shrugging his shoulders a little.

Himchan never had guests, the closest he got to ever really having guests were clients but they paid him to come over. In his books that didn’t count. The blonde was at loss, he knew he had a few drinks and he had homemade treats still fresh and saved up from his stress relieving baking spree the other day. “I also have cookies, oatmeal raisin, dark chocolate chip, white chocolate chunk…." Even if she didn’t have any now, he would be sending some home with her. He seriously needed to get rid of all these desserts before his thighs grew. 

Atsuko didn't want to bother him any further, so she simply shook her head. "N-no, I'm fine, thank you." She laughed slightly at his offering of alcohol, waving her hand in front of her face. "I'm 19, so no, I-I'm fine." Himchan seemed sort of awkward, which was a lot to say coming from her. From what she'd seen so far, he seemed quite social, easily talking to her and trying to make her feel more comfortable. But having someone else in his house was foreign, apparently.

"Cookies?" Atsuko felt her stomach rumble in hunger, and looked away embarrassedly. "I-I guess a cookie wouldn't do any harm." She half-smiled at him, bowing her head slightly in thanks. Gabanna, if she remembered correctly, suddenly appeared in front of Himchan, patting his leg for attention. The small dog was soon directed towards her, sitting in front of her happily, staring at her in adorable questioning.

Rena believed coffee was her savior. No, she wasn’t addicted, but it was the only thing that helped her stay alert and ready throughout the day. The strong taste, the powerful aroma. Its power to put people out in a second or to send nerves flying fascinated her. Fortunately, she didn’t drink it every day considering her body was already in bad shape already. Plus, she didn’t want to further her delirious qualities. Even without the coffee, a couple of trips to the local café were something of a daily routine now. Her stomach didn’t have to be eager for nutrients nor did her mouth have to experience a drought. The atmosphere put her at peace and relaxation. Every now and then she was able to catch up on latest book, Les Fleurs du Mal.

Unfortunately, her usual hang out was scheduled for renovations today; however she didn’t let that stop her from attaining her daily dose. Pulling up directions for the nearest café location on her phone, she was surprised to discover that there was one just around the corner. Her shoulders retreated as she released her built up tension in just a single exhale. Tucking the device into her purse, Rena spun on the heels of her boots and started towards her new bistro.

The scenery surrounding her new environment didn’t differ much from the previous one; after all, they were (acceptably) 50 steps in distance from each other. The pavement was crisp with excess water thanks to last night’s downpour and the weather wasn’t too unpleasant either. Not too cold, but not too warm, however it forced Rena to throw on her blue striped parka. She wasn’t much of a fashion enthusiast so the looks given to her were mysteries. Attention was the last thing she wanted.

 Reaching her destination, Rena is welcomed by a familiar aroma of roasting coffee beans. Letting a hushed “Ah~h” escape her mouth, she advances through the automatic doors with ease.

Unsure whether she should wait to be seated or not, she plants herself at the nearest booth. The different atmosphere unsettled Rena’s nerves. “Being in such a place…Is it okay for me to be here?” She thought. It’s not like the place had a threatening demeanor. It was rather cute, actually.  The settle colors, the presentation of food. Everything about it reminded her of home. “This may just become my new getaway spot.”

Accepting defeat, she flipped through the plastic becoming very indecisive of her order. After about five minutes of mouthwatering agony, a decision was made. She wanted everything, but that would only leave moths flying out of her wallet, so she settled for espresso and biscotti

Angered at the man's rude behavior, she murmured a few choice words in Japanese under her breath as she made her way towards the woman sitting by herself in a booth near the door. She seemed sort of nervous, glancing around the cafe. They made eye contact and Atsuko smiled slightly as she reached her table.

He waited until a ding filled his ears before pressing the number two, hoping that he was able to confuse his pursuers by going up two more floors than needed. Once the doors slid open again, he stuck his head out, noting that the hallway was clear as he pulled her with him once again. He pretended he didn’t notice how he hadn’t let go of her hand while they made their way slowly down the corridor, only stopping when he found an empty classroom. It was at the very end of the hall and when he looked down at the other side, he saw the two men starting to run their way. 

Rushing her inside, he quickly scanned the room before bounding over to the big desk at the front of the room. He pulled open it’s drawers, each empty until found a sharp pair of red scissors. It would work. He pushed the girl over to the window, opening it as he looked down. From his perspective, if he landed right, he’d fall into the bushes thus decreasing the chance of him getting hurt badly. He sighed and jumped, landing awkwardly on his back as he looked up at the open window. 

He cracked a joke about thanking him later, making Atsuko glare at him quietly. This was no time to be making jokes, frankly. She had absolutely no clue what was going on and it angered her to no end. Being clueless was something she despised. She preferred to step back and look at a situation before dealing with it, not rushing into it head-on like a wild dog. Which seemed to be this boy's plan.

They slowly exited the elevator once the door opened, both of them checking for the men chasing them. The halls were empty, luckily, and they quietly made their way to the other end of the hall, Atsuko's hand still entwined in his. She wanted to shake his hand off because her palms were getting sweaty, but that really didn't matter right now. 

The two stopped in front of the empty classroom at the end of the hallway, and Atsuko barely had any time to think before the pounding of footsteps were heard at the opposite end of the hall and she was being pushed into the room frantically. The men had saw them, for sure. And there was no way to get out of this. They would have to fight or somehow block them out until somebody else helped - Atsuko definitely wasn't a fighter and everyone was in class so she wasn't looking forward to what was going to happen next.

The boy seemed to have grabbed a pair of red scissors, but.. was now opening the window and pushing her towards it? They weren't going to jump, no way, they were a good 10 feet off the ground, probably more. Atsuko yelped in surprise when the boy then proceeded to do what she had feared, and she rushed forward to watch as he landed seemingly safely.

Her heart was pounding so loud in her ears she didn't hear what he shouted at her. But his open arms and waiting expression confirmed her worries. She had to jump. Of course, she had to. There were two men that were most likely just reaching the door now and were intent on catching them and doing something horrible to both of them. Or there was jumping out of a window, into the arms of a stranger, and possibly injuring one or both of them.

Dongwoo wasn’t a fan of rainy days. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the rain. Not at all, in fact, he loved playing outside in the rain; the contentment of sitting inside and watching the rain fall. He just didn’t like how it affected those around him. Generally, people became moody and so the young man would prefer a happy sunny day, for the sanity of everyone else. Always putting people before himself, the definition of people pleaser.

And so it was that Jang Dongwoo had just footed the bill for both a lonely-seeming elderly man as well as a stressed college student. The surprised expressions being all the thanks he needed. A cafe was the perfect place to be on a day such as this. Windy and grey; rain clouds pouring down. A warm drink and a giant window provided the perfect ambiance. This particular cafe, however, had the benefit of location. Atop the middle of the bridge over the Han river, it was the perfect view. To Dongwoo, the rain only proved to make the landscape more awe-inspiring.

It was around noon when the rain began to pick up. Bright eyes became glued to the scenery outside the window, finding beauty in the passing cars shooting past in the dropping rain. At first, he thought he was seeing things when a figure appeared on the walkway. It was fairly far away from the cafe… didn’t they want to come inside? His attention was drawn to the figure frozen in the rain. Even if they were lost, they’d want to come inside, right?

A sigh seemed to rise right out of the spine of the pink haired boy; his shivers briefly overtook him as he wholeheartedly stared at whoever was out there. It felt like he was in one of those paranormal shows he’d come across on television. Was that thing a ghost? For a moment, Dongwoo pondered about it. Even if it was a ghost, he figured he had to be seeing it for a reason.

Not even bothering to grab his jacket, he grabbed his umbrella and rushed outside. Through the thick rainfall, he could barely see, continuing toward the figure, nonetheless. He slowed, not quite sure how exactly to approach it. Now that he was closer, he could see they were situated on the bridge’s rail. Were they planning to jump? Ghost or not, Dongwoo didn’t want them to jump. Approaching the figure slowly, as he didnt want to startle them, he called out to them, “Hey!” He paused, unsure of how to continue.

Deciding to walk home and go past the Han River was also turning out to be a bad idea. It had started raining shortly after she left the cafe, and she was too out of it to bother hailing a cab or taking the subway home. Her thin grey sweater barely provided any protection against the cold rain drops. While it wasn't completely hailing down, it was enough to make her cold and thoroughly drenched.

Coming up to the Han River, Atsuko continued to slowly make her way across the long bridge spanning the famous landmark. Two laughing girls under a bright pink umbrella passed her, and she heard murmured whispers of "Freak." She contemplated going after them just to let her anger out, but decided she was too tired to do anything really physical. The rain was making it hard to see, and her hair was starting to stick to her face, obstructing her vision even more.

Atsuko was just so fed up with everything. She was never good enough for her parents, or her old high-class friends, she even disappointed her boss on a regular basis. Covering her face with her hands, she let her warm breath heat up her hands slightly. 

The rushing of the river down below suddenly caught her attention and she stopped to peek out of her hands. Despite the risks, Atsuko leaned over the rail, staring at the rushing water down below. It.. could be that easy. She didn't allow herself to have second thoughts. Grasping onto the rail tightly, she pulled herself up to sit on top of it.

The rain continued to pour down, but she ignored it in favor of staring at her possible salvation below. Nobody would miss her. Her parents would get through it. They always managed to. Taking a deep breath, Atsuko felt tears start trailing down her face. She wasn't afraid, she wouldn't allow herself to be afraid. This would just.. be the end.

The sound of footsteps and a short yell made her still with confusion. Just what she needed. Someone trying to stop her. This was what she had been waiting for, a way to stop.. being a nuisance to everyone. The person, who she identified as a man from their voice, told her she could get hurt in a worried voice. A laugh made it's way out, uncontrollably, and Atsuko turned her head slightly to acknowledge his presence.

The only horrible thing that would come from this is that her book was absolutely ruined, and her tea was now non-existent. This was the worst of her problems. Which admittedly, was not that bad at all. Her drafts were all in her head, so she could redraw them anyway, considering she now had a better idea of what she had wanted in the first place… and tea was easily remade. Now all that was needed to be done was that the table needed to be cleaned, and the notebook had to be thrown out.

The tea was simple enough to make again, and Atsuko quickly placed it on another porcelain plate. More wary of her surroundings this time, she swiftly but carefully headed towards the woman's table. "H-here you go, miss." She bowed deeply once more, and waited for the woman to nod her head slightly before she headed back to the kitchen.

Despite her nervousness, she tried her best to clean the counters and take orders, but she soon heard pounding footsteps coming from the kitchen. Most likely her manager, coming to yell at her for spilling hot tea on a paying customer. Another waitress had probably witnessed the incident and scurried off to their boss, hoping to get in his good books.

"You’re a student?" She smiled lovingly. She could only count the number of times she had taken, or ‘requested’, her father’s credit card and splurged on the younger girl. She was the baby sister Keiko had always hoped and dreamed of. Taking a seat she took a sip of what Atsuko had brought her. “What are you studying for?" She asked curiously placing a hand under her chin.

"Yes, of course. I know you have an.. unique job, so it's always wonderful to here stories." Atsuko nodded enthusiastically. She could never handle working with the law - she would be too soft to deal with issues properly. When Keiko told her why she had come here, she tilted her head curiously. She remembered there were problems with the yakuza in Japan, obviously, but she never imagined the gangs here to be just as bad.

"Ah, I see.. Well, I hope you find what you're looking for." Atsuko smiled encouragingly at Keiko. Considering the questions she was asked, Atsuko rubbed her arm for a moment in thought. "Well, my parents make sure I call them every week. Just to check up on my studies. They're doing well enough, I suppose." She thought about the last question more thoroughly.

He let his legs slow down a little when they came upon a large building, students filing in and out as they went to their classes. He gulped, pulled her through the entrance of the building, and managed not to run into anyone as they ran down the corridor. The way to lose them, he thought as he looked around for any sign of stairs, was to go up. 

Jeongguk could practically feel the men behind them. He knew they’d go through anything just to catch him, and if it meant chasing him around a very populated campus, they wouldn’t say no. 

He pulled her into a thick crowd, pushing past people who let out grunts of annoyance. He didn’t have time to feel sorry, however he would be later if he got caught, and that was something he planned on avoiding at all costs. His eyes caught sight of a door on the other side of the room and quickly ran to it, pulling it open and ushering the girl inside before he slipped in as well. He closed it quietly, leaning against it as he tried to catch his breath. It was a closet, he realized when his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness. He could see the outline of the girl despite the lack of light, and suddenly he smiled because for once in his short lifetime he had an idea. 

The boy pushed through people unapologetically, but Astuko always made sure to murmur an apology when somebody was knocked down. She could still hear the loud pounding of footsteps from the men chasing them, but they seemed to stop for a moment, possibly caught up in the mess of students that had been pushed to the ground. The boy twisted suddenly, heading towards a closet, and quickly pushed her inside.

He leaned against the door, and they both stood there panting, trying to catch their breath. Atsuko stared at him quietly, honestly confused as to what was happening. In the dim light of the closet, she saw him smile suddenly, and raised an eyebrow in confusion. This wasn't just one huge plan to get them alone in a closet, was it? No, he seemed pretty serious when they were running away. And it seemed  like too elaborate of a plan for a teenager to think of and pull off.

Once he spoke, she understood what he was thinking. Atsuko could be the one to either help them escape or cause their capture. She calmed herself down, feeling her heartbeat return to normal. A picture of the hallway appeared in her mind, and a few feet away from the closet.. An elevator. That would work. But they had to get there, press the button, and wait for it, all while in the open.