Incarnadine | Prequel to "Viridescence"

4

15th September
2005

A light groan leaves Seonghwa when he feels himself being shaken harshly. He decides to ignore it and hopes it goes away itself, and continues to clamp his eyes tightly shut. He's so tired, even this hard ground feels like a soft mattress.

"Seonghwa! We need to move," he hears Hongjoong hiss to him while shaking him even harder. With a loud sigh, he finally opens his eyes. He squints instantly after, using his hand to block out the piercing sunlight.

"What's going on?" he asks, noticing the sounds of faint chatter along with a few cars whooshing by. He sits up and stretches his arms, biting his lip as his legs and head throb. Hongjoong looks like he's about to whack the other across the head, but instead he shoots up.

"We need to move, we're currently at the back of a restaurant and they're open now. Someone could walk out and catch us at any moment," he explains in a whisper. Seonghwa sleepily turns his head and finds a door that he didn't even notice the night before. He frowns but stands up too, feeling his feet scream in pain.

He limps over to the paper bags that he's in charge of holding and picks them up before turning back to the younger boy. Hongjoong rolls his eyes at how groggily Seonghwa is moving and ushers him away from the alley.

They walk down the street together, the place looking much different in daylight. A few people speed past them, clearly on their way to work based on their formal attire. The boys try to fit in as much as they can, but their hair and clothes give away a bit of what they've been through. Seonghwa scrunches his nose at the odour coming from himself and tries his best to avoid going near anyone else. This is embarrassing.

While Hongjoong leads the way, he tries his best at fixing up his hair and brushing dirt off it. Sleeping on the ground really messed with his soft, silky black hair. How will he and Hongjoong take care of themselves like this? Do they even have toothbrushes with them? Where can they change clothes or shower?

Forget all that- do they even have enough money for food?

"H-Hey Hongjoong?" Seonghwa timidly calls out. Hongjoong slows down until they're walking alongside each other and nods.

"Will we get to brush our teeth or eat?" he nervously asks, hoping he didn't sound annoying. Hongjoong starts giggling, much to his surprise. "That has been stressing you? But you've got a point, I'm hungry. Let me check my wallet and see what we can afford," he shrugs, reaching for his wallet in the paper bag.

He shuffles around it and bites his cheek. "We have enough to eat and buy toothbrushes. Let's go to the shop," he announces. Seonghwa continues to fidget with his fingers, however.

"What about showering?" he shyly wonders. Hongjoong looks down into his wallet and raises an eyebrow at Seonghwa. "Deal with however you are right now," he sighs, flinging the wallet back into the bag.

They walk some more, Seonghwa feeling a bit grumpy now. It seems that Hongjoong only really wants to do what he wants. Whatever, at least Seonghwa's getting food.

They approach a small store at the edge of the town. Its location alone is enough to tell the boys that business isn't quite booming. So it's perfect for them.

Hongjoong decides to go in alone to avoid suspicion from the owner. They both look like they'll steal something, but Hongjoong refrains from doing so to lower the risk of getting caught. If they're caught with a petty crime like robbery, he'll also quickly get caught for everything else he's done.

He emerges minutes later, two toothbrushes and one small tube of toothpaste in his hand. "Here," he nudges the packet into Seonghwa. The boy looks down at the brush and gladly accepts it.