Virus || K.TH

Ch.1

I wake up.
My head avoids the bunk above me.

Instincts.

With quick hands, I lift myself and get set into my wheelchair. I stroll across the dim room, stashing food, water, and extra things like socks into my satchel. I then fling it across my shoulders and roll out. Literally.

Daylight will be completely set in less than an hour. I write a letter to the owners of the home I've been staying in for a while, thanking them for everything. Before leaving the front door, I go into the restroom and stuff a few sanitary napkins into the bag.

"Lee? Is that you?" The elderly woman calls from her bedroom.

I've taken all of her money and jewlery. It's tucked safely away in my bag.

I don't answer, but with quick pushes, I'm out of the house. I have a phone. a disposable one, so I call the only person I haven't cut ties with.

My dad.

I wait for a few rings and hang up. I guess he's not talking to me anymore either.

I flip the phone closed and toss it into my bag. I'm back in the real world. I hum a light song as I head to a nearby coffee shop. I smile at fellow pedestrians.

I think about my smiling. I can smile to anyone and they'll smile back. If they knew me, or what I was capable of, they would pull their kids away from me and grimace in my direction. Good thing I'm the only one who knows who I truly am. What my mission is. How many people I've hurt, killed even.

I'm in the shop before I know it. Fixing the hem of my shirt, I smile widely at a man sitting down. My smile disappears when his eyes widen. He then opens his mouth.
"You!" He screams hysterically.

Everyone's attention is now on us. I scrunch my face up and tears roll down my rose cheeks. My nose is as red as a tomato and I begin crying loudly, accusing the man of verbally assaulting me because of my disability. He stops shouting and pushes me. I fall to the ground, my face flushed.

"Get up you fake! You don't need that wheelchair! Get up- You see guys, she can walk!" He chants to me, then to the other customers.

A slim man sludges our way, he looks at me, then the man whaling about my fake disability. I begin to think he's going to hurt me, until he pushes the other man back and rolls my wheelchair closer and helps me up. Strapping me in, and setting my satchel in my lap. He then insists on buying me a meal, but I refuse to take his money, even in the form of a delicious breakfast. Even though I really need it.

My stomach grumbles, and he lifts his eyebrows.

"Fine."

He smiles, rolling my chair to the other side of the shop. We order. In less than a few moments, our plates are set in front of us. He smiles to me, then begins eating. The smell of the food entices me. Disregarding the many utensils, I stuff my face, licking my fingers and slurping down every drop of warm liquid in the white cups. The warmness of the hot chocolate calms my throat, which was sore from crying.

When I look up from my now stainless plate, I realise there are people observing me.

I look at their tags, and it says they are managers, each of a higher level.

"I am sorry about our employee treating you the way he did. We'd like to give you 10,000 store credit."

I look at my plate once more.

"I've already eaten and don't plan on staying in town for long", The man sitting across from me sags his shoulders as I continue,"I appreciate the offer, but I think you should give the credit to this man. He helped me up, and even played for me to eat."

"Sick, that's 10 free meals!" He claps his hands, his black hair bounces carelessly onto his forehead.
I smile, then bow to the managers. They take the man's name and add the credit to his account.

"Hmm, Kim Taehyung. The Kims are bad news" I say to myself before leaving.

Once out of the shop, I observe the sky. Daylight has settled. Scratching my scalp, I curse to myself. My head pulses. I pop a pill and turn a corner.

I continue to stroll down the corner until I reach a clothing shop. I go in and stroll to a one person, unisex bathroom. Standing up, I fold the wheelchair and lean it against the wall. I slide my phone in my pocket and sling the satchel back over my shoulder. I exchange my raggedy nightclothes for some loose jeans and a cotton shirt. My shoes are worn, and I'm down to my last pair of eye contacts.

I pull a makeup pouch from my bag, one I snatched from the self care isle on my way back here. I spread a thin layer of pale foundation and finish up with powdery blush, lined across my nose and dispersed at my cheeks. My eyebrows are drawn with a low arch, and velvet colored lipstain compliments my plump lips.

I pull off the dirty blonde wig I wore and reveal my thick, jet black bob. My bangs are getting too long, so I pull them back. I now look like a normal person. Instead of using my last pair of eye contacts, I opt for my thin framed spectacles. I switch my satchel for a handbag, moving everything from my own into my new own.

I primp one last time, then make way. No one in the shop notices me. I look like everyone else here once again. I bow to the shop owner, then leave completely.

I have one hundred and fifty dollars in cash. I plan on getting on the bus, and heading to Ilsan. Then, I will start a new life there.

If I had a penny for all the times I've had to do this. I still wouldn't be as rich as I already am now. I laugh inside my head.

I feel a sudden force, then collide with an old brick wall. The pulse is back in my head. It's the man from the coffee shop.

"I knew it was you! I knew you didn't need that wheelchair!" He snaps.

I grimace, the taste of pennies fill my mouth. My head pounds greatly. His hand comes smashing its way towards me. I hear it land, but the pounding in my head and adrenaline pumping through my body oversees the feeling. A second hand crashes down. I grab it, twisting his now balled up fist as far as it can go. I use his weight to lift myself up, then kick his right leg in. I let go as he goes crashing onto the pavement.

Looking at his sorry body, I spit at his direction. The blood staining his cotton white shirt. I feel a bit dizzy, but I manage to keep on two feet.

"Get off my back already, Namjoon. It's been what, 2 years you've been bugging me." My hands are now placed on my hips, one leg arched, and all the attitude I can conjure faces front.

Don't show him you're hurt, Lee.

"You stole everything from me, bitch!" He exclaims in pain. I hold a finger to my mouth, scolding his shouting in such a quiet place.

I lift my fist for one last blast. One last hit and Namjoon will only be a name of the past. This final contact will end his life. I can feel the power rumbling in my chest.

"Lee, is that you?" The same voice as before calls to me.

The man from the coffee shop.

I lower my fist immediately. My palm stings from where my nails have dug so deep into. Taehyung observes the man laying on the pavement, then me. He stares at my legs for a while, then I realise why.

My wheelchair.

I stand awkwardly.

"Where's your wheelchair, Lee?" His eyes shine, a silver glint confirming his innocence. My legs wobble, I'm not sure what it is.

"Lee?" Taehyung holds my shoulders, as dark clouds my vision. I slowly slip away.

END OF CHAPTER 1

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