TARGET

하나

-Present-

The cold bit at his pasty skin and caused the originally pale skin to blossom a dusty crimson color along the apples of his cheeks and the tip of his nose. His frail hands shivered, but partially because of the heavy pot of spicy rice cake stew he hauled along with every ounce of his being.

Despite the lid's attempt to hold the scent captive, the heavenly aroma of the soup still seeped through the cracks and graced his nose, which prompted him to bring it closer-

but then it got heavy and he deemed the aroma not worth the strain. He set it back to its original position of holding it with his arms hanging, using his back strength which lightened the load.

The streets buzzed with people, technology, life.

Despite the biting cold of late November, the biting cold didn't stop the bustling commoners and the packed streets of downtown Seoul. Probably because the holiday season was nearing.

It wasn't always like this.

He could still vividly remember that day. It was a matter of building himself back up from nothing,

Well, not exactly nothing.

It wasn't a person, a possession, an idea that he had-

it was a gift.

More like a curse because of what it took from him.

Years ago, in 2015, crime rates at its all-time high, the survival of the fittest- your typical post-apocalyptic novel- except minus the happy ending and any type of prosperity for the time being.

Society had its way of rebuilding, yet despite that, the remnants of trauma remained woven into the livelihoods of every single human being on the face of the earth.

All because of that one...seemingly impossible and unfathomable....phenomenon, to say the least.

He finally saw the familiar complex and used his back to nudge open the creaky door, nodding politely at the receptionist despite the uninterested old hag paying no mind.

He made his way down the cement stairs to the basement of the building.

The boy sighed when he made it to the entrance of the place he called home, remembering that he needed to open the door with fingerprint recognition. Meaning he had to put down the pot. Meaning he had to bend down. Meaning he had to exert energy.

Another sigh while he tried to escape his inevitable fate by pushing the pot over to hoist a side of the pot on his hip, with one of his hands holding the other end of the pot and the other one tending to the fingerprint- but his attempt was futile since the hot pot burned his hip- earning a hiss in reply from the blond boy.

With a final sigh, he put the pot down- disappointed that he lost to the damned fingerprint scanner in their little showdown- and placed his right thumb on the pad. A ring of green light around the mechanism glowed, signaling affirmation to entry.

The blond pushed the door open and picked up the pot, making his way inside.

"Hyung!" A boy with midnight blue hair who smiled sweetly ran over to greet him, well, it seemed to the aforementioned that his excitement was more so because of the damned pot he held in his hands.