Young and Wild || seongjoong || ATEEZ

Chapter One : The Beginning

a/n: Hey y'all! Long time no see, I'm happy to announce my next new project, it's the official sequel to the story "mea rose aurea". I just wanted to let y'all know that this will be another mature story for various reasons, so please look at the tags and mind the chapter warnings! I hope y'all enjoy <33 

Chapter warning: description of violence

It had been raining for five days straight.

No stops in the downpour, no breaks in the dark clouds that sought to block out the sun from reaching the saturated ground, nothing. There hadn't been a storm like this one in at least thirty years, the locals had claimed such as they stared out their windows with frowns on their faces when the rain wouldn't stop pouring.

The streets had flooded with what seemed to be small rivers of inches of water racing down the incline in the cobblestone, had left the port town empty and quiet. There were times when the rain would pound so hard on the roofs of the houses that their inhabitants would fear that the sheer power of the storm would crush their little safe haven and leave them bare to mother nature's fury. Then other times, the rain would be lighter, a gentle drizzle that hit the windows in a sort of lullaby that put the children to sleep instead of leaving them cowering in their parent's arms under the kitchen table.

But the rain never stopped.

The port town was on a large hill, the houses and businesses along with the local markets were engraved into the side of the hill that kept them safe from the great floods. The dirt road that the horse-drawn carriages followed down by the ocean was completely flooded, dark and murky water kept wandering eyes from seeing the damage that lay there.

Tragedy is what it was. Years of hard work by the inhabitants were washed away in a matter of five days. Some had said they had been cursed, others said that a storm of this magnitude had been expected with how restless the sea had been.

The world around them had turned gray with the water surrounding them that reflected the clouds above. Five long days of melancholy atmosphere and rhythmic rain had sent them all into a trance. Even the trees were weeping, their branches hanging low with the weight of their heavy and wet leaves. The grass and fields of flowers were soggy and not as pleasing to the eye as the locals had claimed they were when the sun decided to show its face.

In the late spring, the weather was warm. The rain had only made the air around them feel pressurizing. A gift it might have seemed that the rain that soaked them was not freezing cold, but with the hot air and the added humidity, some found it rather difficult to breathe.

However, on the sixth day, it seemed the port town that had become a trade center over the years finally had enough of the isolation. Despite the continued rain, there were cloaked figures walking throughout the streets, trying to salvage what products they could from the markets.

The thieves had found gold over the past few days. That much was evident by the overturned bins and torn cloths that littered the streets. They would be long gone by now, probably miles inland where they could no longer be tracked, their footprints washed away like a memory.

Even the stray dogs had come out to bark for scraps when strangers would pass by. Their furs were matted and dripping, much unlike the few stray cats which had somehow managed to stay dry in their hiding spots, choosing to not come out until the rain would stop.

Seonghwa had always liked the rain, it was something that lulled him to sleep when the duties of his past would become too much and not allow his brain to sleep despite the darkness of the night.