Long Journey || ATEEZ

Hongjoong's Dream

2018

Kim Hongjoong was an ordinary 20-year-old man living his life in the modest town of Leania. His childhood had been average and his grades so-so. He currently worked as clerk in a small company that struggled to get by, and apart from the fact that he was born a demon – an especially feared Dark Creature – and his love for the arts that were forbidden in his country (and also the fact that he put his milk before his cereal), nothing much else was that remarkable about him. Sure, he was a hardworking, honest man, but weren't most common folk the same?

However, life wasn't easy in a poverty-ridden town like Leania. Food and money were scarce, and even Hongjoong, who was a little better off than most, found himself missing a meal every now and then.

But, of course, every man has his dreams, and Kim Hongjoong was tired of this mundane, tasteless life he was leading. He had a dream; and he planned on carrying it out whilst he was still young and wild.

And so, gathering up all the little pennies he could find for the bus fare, he set out for the lustrous city of Taerrya, hoping to find a place and job that could accommodate his ambitions.

He knew of the dangers, of course.

The city was well-known for its problematic gangs and their apparently 'petty' wars. The entirety of the city's population was held in their iron-clad grip; even the government, however strict they were, dared not interfere.

But Hongjoong saw a glimmer of light in the darkness-infected city. He believed that he could find talented and resourceful people for his dream in that place, and he believed there, he could earn the money to make it come true. After all, Taerrya wasn't Signeria's most technologically advanced city for nothing.

* * *

The bus journey was uneventful, and finding enough well-paying potential jobs positively easy. But finding a place to live in? It was proving harder than Hongjoong initially thought to be.

A small, one-bedroom apartment accommodation. That was all Hongjoong needed, but no matter how much he searched, how many times he walked into the grubbiest, most run-down property agencies he could find in the not-that-grubby city, there were no properties within his price range. No matter how hard he looked, everything was too expensive, though some of the property agents had looked a little uncomfortable about it, for some reason.

How could there be absolutely nothing?

And it wasn't like Hongjoong could give up, and go back and forth between his current home and his new job; there was the bus fare to think of, and that alone would cost a fortune if he were to travel between the towns five days a week.

And he couldn't drive, nor had he ever had enough money to own a car (especially since he was saving up money to move) in his life.

Hongjoong sighed. He couldn't give up like this, but there was nothing else he could do.

The sun was starting to set, and it would be dark soon.

* * *

Dusk was fast approaching, and Hongjoong, dejected and exhausted from running all over town looking for a cheap home, made his way down a secluded street, having had his last hope – an especially dusty and old agency building owned by an equally as dusty and old man – shred to pieces by the ridiculously high prices once more.

Maybe they weren't ridiculously high for any normal resident in this city, but Hongjoong wasn't one of those privileged people.

The early spring breeze wafting down the alley seemed chillier than usual, and Hongjoong wondered why. He also noticed there was a musky scent in the air, getting stronger by the second. Sure, city air was naturally thick and suffocating, but this was more pungent, similar to cigarette smoke. Perhaps it was cigarette smoke. Whatever it was, the source of it was definitely getting closer.