Retelling the Video

All In 1

Minhyuk's Point of View

We had all spent the night in our secret hideout just beyond the edge of town. We walked along the back alleys between the old, crumbling houses so we wouldn't be caught sneaking back in. No one was allowed to go outside the town.

We walked onto one of the main streets and saw two elderly shoe salesmen being harassed by some soldiers. It was getting harder to make money. You had to have a permit to sell things in the street, but you needed money to get a permit. You couldn't get money to get a permit without stealing. It was a vicious circle.

I thought we were going to walk past like most everyone else did. We couldn't really afford to get into trouble. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw 3 of our 7 stop by the soldiers. Shownu, Jooheon, and, most surprising to me, Hyungwon looked at each other behind the soldiers and nodded. Shownu pointed a finger gun at one of them like it was a real weapon, Jooheon put the barrel of a soldier's gun to his forehead which was covered slightly by a black baret, and Hyungwon skipped up to the third with a blue flower in hand, tucking the flower into the soldier's pocket before smiling at him.

I was worried for Hyungwon more than I was for Shownu or Jooheon. He was my best friend and the other two knew how to handle themselves pretty well. I had never thought Hyungwon out of all us would be one of the ones to put himself in danger. He flinched really easily and was always a very cautious person who kept to the rules.

By the time Shownu, Jooheon, and Hyungwon were done with the soldiers, the men had taken their things and left. The soldiers realized this and got angry, letting the three off with a warning this time. We all breathed a sigh of relief and I gently slapped Hyungwon's arm when he walked next to me.

"You got me worried. You know you especially have to careful about getting in trouble. Your dad is the mayor and he will ground you again if you get in trouble for that," I worried at him. He just nodded and smiled.

"I know Minhyuk. I just couldn't let those men get in trouble for trying to survive. I had to do something," he told me. I nodded and smiled back at him. He had one of the kindest hearts I had ever seen.

"I know you did. I'm proud of you by the way. That was really kind and brave of you. I am ashamed to say this, but I was just going to walk past," I admitted. He patted my arm with a small "that's okay," and we continued on to the bridge we hung out beneath most days.

We reached it quite quickly and sat down in out usual spots. We chatted and laughed and playing tic-tac-toe and hopscotch and rock-paper-scissors. We were undisturbed for a few minutes, but then a man walked up with a few others behind him. Hyungwon's father, followed by the soldier who still had the blue flower in his pocket.

"Don't worry guys. I can handle this. Just stay here and don't worry," Hyungwon said. He stood up and walked closer to his father.

"You think it's okay to disrespect a soldier like this," his father yelled when he was within arms reach. His father took the flower from the soldier's pocket and threw it in Hyungwon's face. He slapped Hyungwon with a resounding connection that echoed off the bridge. I gasped as Hyungwon's head went to the left. He said nothing, just stared at the ground as his father left.

"I think we should go home guys," he whispered. The others nodded reluctantly and walked in the directions of their homes. I hesitated, not wanting to go. Hyungwon gave a look that told me to go and I turned and walked away.