𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕎𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟 𝕆𝕦𝕣 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤 (ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕥)

Chapter III: Thorn Prince

   Cold.

   It was so cold.

   He was frozen to the bones at that point, just waiting for hypothermia to kick in and do its job. The battered and torn clothes he wore did him no justice to shield him from the biting cold. Curling himself into a ball, he attempted to conserve the little body heat he had left, whimpering like a kicked puppy.

   He was cold.

   Shivering.

   Wheezing.

   And through it all, he had no one to care for him. He was all alone.

   He was used to the hard-concrete ground and how abused his skin would be from scratching against it. He was used to the dirt and grime on his body. He was used to his greasy matted hair. The rags he wore that barely covered his body. The loneliness. The dirty looks he was so often subjected to as if he were mere dirt the privileged people walked on. There were fleeting moments when people would help him get food or give him money to go to a motel and clean himself up. That was how he was getting by ever since he was fourteen years old.

   It was all so unfair. He was never given a chance at a normal life, never seen for the potential he had. Instead, he was tested, abused and abandoned. No one ever cared enough. Day by day, he watched children get embraced by their guardians while he was pushed and dragged on the pavement like some ragdoll. He watched young teens his age get together and have fun, having many companions while he had none.

Unfair.

   But Beomgyu learnt that the world was an unfair place a long time ago. He saw the true colors of the world, the dull and dead colors that darkened his heart and ripped out the innocence in his eyes. He was as cold inside as it was on the outside that winter night.

   His eyes widened as the warm embrace of a thick blanket fell over his shoulders, a boy younger than him fussing over his state. Following the younger boy, two more heads popped into his line of vision. With his blurry eyes that stung from the cold air, he couldn't make out specific features but he remembers wondering if they were angels. And with the painful headache that pounded against his skull, he was delirious, barely hanging onto consciousness. As he tilted forward, head hanging limp, he was caught by lean gentle arms.

   "He's waking up!"

   "Hiyyih, go get mum and dad."

   "I'll go!"

   "Kai-."

   He nearly jumped out of his skin when he woke up to two females leaning over him, getting in his face. The two backed away when he let out a loud shriek, followed by their own screeches which alerted their parents. The entire house was in chaos.

   "Why?!?! WHAT HAPPENED?"

   "EONNI, WHY ARE YOU SCREAMING?!"

   "WHY ARE YOU SCREAMING?"

   "KAI, I TOLD YOU TO NOT LEAVE YOUR SISTERS ALONE!"

   "I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! I WAS JUST TRYING TO HELP!"

   Two adults came rushing into the living room along with a young boy who seemed to be around his age. Beomgyu was now sitting up on the couch, defensive, as his wide eyes portrayed just how scared he was to wake up to an entirely new environment. The two girls ran to their parents and the small family watched Beomgyu as if he were a stray cat they picked up from an alley.

   Which was not entirely false.

   Once everyone had calmed down, they helped the boy settle in with warm clothes and tasty food. Beomgyu nearly cried when the woman asked him if he needed more food, to which he obviously nodded his head. Never in his life had he ever been welcomed into someone's home and treated with such hospitality. They even took him to the hospital the next day, to really make sure he was in good health.