Zero only has one goal, to be human. Escaping from the cell that once contained her, the outside world, which she longed to see for so long, is filled with more darkness than she expected.
She is faced with a world that is determined to label her a...
Walking around at night in the Mines was almost like walking through a haunted house. One could never know who was lurking in the shadows, waiting to get them. The rising sun in its blindingly bright glory, chased the darkness away.
The world was soon coloured in bright orange hues. Meaning that one could see the Mines for what it truly was, a poverty-stricken area. If it wasn't the endless potholes on the grey tarmac of the road that gave it away. It was the multi-coloured shipping containers that served as homes for people.
Like clockwork, there was a cacophony of metallic creaks that echoed throughout the streets. People were waking up for yet another labour-filled day. All to sustain their small lives crammed into even smaller spaces. Hope for a better future was a foreign concept for them.
The second Namjoon heard the creaks he stood pin straight. Even though he knew his body was painted with black and blue bruises that dully ached. He could not show any weakness when he was on his turf, not when all these people were relying on him. He wore an expression of placid coldness on his face but still waved and gave diplomatic smiles to everyone he passed.
A group of children passed them, dressed in their tattered grey uniforms. Their happy squeals seemed to lift the spirit of anyone who heard them. Namjoon tried not to stare at them for too long. For his past would end up staring back at him. He shook his head as if to remind himself that he wasn't that weak little boy anymore. He had the thing he had always wanted, power.
He soon realised that the death angel that had appeared to him had been a normal human being. He didn't know whether to be disappointed or relieved.
She had been following him like a shadow as he walked towards the forest. It used to be a vast forest but in a matter of years, it had turned into a field filled with leafless trees due to all the mining being done. The working class in the Mines had more important things to worry about and the sight of the rivers drying up and plants dying was not even at the top of the list.
He could feel her brown eyes piercing holes through his back. She was observing his every movement like a predator watching her prey.
'Kim Namjoon', her voice called from behind him.
Their footsteps grew louder as they walked across the decaying foliage of the forest. Fallen branches and twigs cracked beneath their feet.
'Why didn't you fight back?', she increased her pace until she was next to him,' You are strong enough to defeat all of them'.
Namjoon let out a low chuckle at her accurate observation.
'Some fights are won by losing-',
He paused in the realisation that he didn't know her name. She didn't seem to understand his reason for hesitating.
'What's your name?'
She blinked back in muted shock,' I don't have one', was what she replied.
Even as a rookie gang leader, he was still a big threat to his rivals. Simply because of his childhood hobby of hacking into the government database of every citizen and memorising their information. Simply put, he knew everyone and everything they got up to. Although he wasn't nearly as good as Yoongi when it came to hacking.
To him, knowledge was the most absolute form of power.
Looking at her face only made him draw up blanks, which only happens with children. Anyone above the age of eighteen was known to him. She looked like she was in her early twenties. That would mean she somehow escaped being put on the grid or she's a spy from another country. He sincerely hoped it wasn't the latter.
'All humans have names', he said in a disregarding tone, not noticing how she tensed at that.
He took a closer look at her. She was dressed in clothes that were too big for her so they were probably stolen. Her brown skin had no bruises so she wasn't running away from wherever she was from because she was being abused.
'Where are your parents or family members?'
The silence that followed was palpable.
'....I don't have any, she replies hesitantly.
With every word she spoke, his suspicion grew tenfold. In the back of his mind, a voice was telling him to drop it and go home. Maybe he wanted to avoid going there because he would be in hot water with his crew for staying out the whole night.
'What were you doing out last night?' he asked in a sharp tone.
She straightened her back and matched his fiery gaze 'Looking for somewhere to sleep'.
He softened slightly at that. He was no stranger to sleeping on the streets when times were hard. That didn't mean he was going to let his guard down.
'If you don't want to tell me your name, at least come up with something I can call you.'
'Zero', Namjoon nodded passively at that. It wasn't a common name but he's heard worse. There was a gangster named Bugsy so in comparison, her name was better. He concluded that she probably didn't trust him enough to reveal who she was. But he didn't trust her either.
A/N
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