word count: 3, 372
pages (paging mode): 22
warnings: language, some violence
mae
It was just another quiet, ordinary fall morning in my little hometown, when the grocery store blew up.
Confused? Here, let me start from the beginning.
***
Tuesday, September 10th
8:12 AM
location: student housing, off-campus. downtown pyongston, korea.
"Love you too, Eomma, Appa." I ended the call and tossed my phone onto my bed, bouncing on top of my sunflowered covers.
I missed my parents, so much. They'd been living in Canada for almost 3 years now, and I only ever got to see them on FaceTime.
We'd decided- or rather, I'd pushed hard enough to convince them- that when I graduated from high school in Canada that I would continue my education here, in Korea; and I was more than happy with that choice. But earning my degrees in medicine meant being away from my only family, my mom and dad.
I sighed, checking the time, and my eyes widened in horror. It was already 8:12 AM, and I had classes at 8:45!
I'm gonna be late I'm gonna be late I'm gonnabe-
I frantically dashed around the house, tugging on my shoes ten minutes later to catch the bus.
Sadly, I didn't make it.
Shit.
I waved my arms wildly above my head and hoped the driver would see. "Hey, wait!" I shouted. But it was futile- the bus was long gone.
I groaned in defeat, resigned to having to walk to school. I shook off the disappointment of being late and set off again; this time not running like the wind.
I listened to the sweet chirping of the birds as they sung in the trees, leaves of many colors spiralling down to the pavement. I smiled at the picturesque morning, even though I was a little behind schedule.
Seeing the corner grocery store in the distance, I knew I was fairly close to campus, so I picked up the pace a little and shifted the bag on my back. The sounds of downtown drifted towards me as I drew nearer, a mix of car tires, bus exhaust, chattering, and doors shutting.
*Although I'd grown up in Ontario, we usually had all four seasons, but sometimes the weather decided to skip fall and head right into winter. Now that I was back in Korea, I was glad to see the changing leaves painted on the trees around downtown, falling gently to the ground where they crunched beneath my feet. I breathed deep in the crisp autumn atmosphere.
I was just about to reach the corner where Leeteuk's Convenience and Grocery store was- when the unmistakable noise of a gunshot rang out from my left.
Please don't let this be what I think it might be.
Adrenaline shooting through me, I hit the ground crouching, thinking that it had truly been a gun.
There were no screams or anything after that, but I stayed down anyways, crawling to press myself against the brick store exterior. There were muffled voices audible inside... and it sounded like an argument. A very intense and violent one.
I heard a shout and flinched as another shot pierced the air. Panicked, I looked around for someplace safe; the search came up empty. There were no allyways to duck into, and past the store was merely open streets.
Mae, you are so screwed.
Fear didn't even come close to what I was feeling in that moment.
I was beyond scared, and I hadn't a clue what to do; so I just stupidly clung onto the wall and hoped to hell that whatever this was wouldn't move outside. If I was lucky, this was all just a very bad dream, and I would wake up any minute now, right?
I closed my eyes and willed myself to wake up.
That was the dumbest mistake I've ever made.
My eyes flew open in horror as three men with masks over their faces stumbled outside, one of them using both hands to press onto their neck. He's hurt, I realized.
The other two had a gun in their hands, and more shots were fired before they rushed back inside. I kept my eye on the injured one, who still lingered outside, and hugged closer to the wall in an attempt to conceal myself.
It didn't work.
"Hey! What are you doing here?" He shouted, obviously alarmed. I felt my eyes widen and I put my hands up in a harmless gesture, the fear increasing with every step he took towards me. When he reached me, I was all but cowering, scared for my life.
He brandished no gun.
He had no visible weapons.
But who knew how dangerous he could be?
He pulled off his mask, revealing his face. If not for the situation we were in, I would've blushed at how handsome the boy was. He was at least half a foot taller than me, and he looked strong. My friends from my college would've called him one very fine looking man.
But he was also incredibly intimidating; and my vision blurred as he asked again why I was here.
"I'm so sorry! My name is Song Seun-Mae and I was just trying to get to school-"
I was cut off by something exploding within the store. "Shit," the stranger cursed under his breath, "I'll have to call for backup."
Fiddling with something on his wrist, he only looked away for a second before his attention snapped right back to me.
"Alright, you're a civilian. I'd love to explain what's going on but we can't stay here. So please keep up, and I'll do my best to get you out of here, Seun-Mae." He instructed, his voice significantly calmer.
I could only nod and tell him, "I go by Mae."
What on earth did he mean by "you're a civilian"? I wondered.
He cleared his throat. "Well Mae," he started, "I need to bring you to safety, but we'll need to find a way through the store. Steer clear of the red bandanas." Without warning, he reached into a belt I hadn't seen before and pulled out a small gun, maybe a revolver. I stomped down the nervous twinge of fear that trickled through my bloodstream and followed the nameless boy to the main entrance.
Was trusting him a bad idea?
I didn't know, but it was my only option.
We approached the entry doors, and I held my breath as they slid open. Immediately I was greeted with the noise of gunfire and the image of a dead man, red bandana tied to the arm limply holding a gun. I wanted to close my eyes.
Sure, I'd seen this kind of thing in movies. But nothing could've ever prepared me for this.
"Oh, fuck. Ten cut our lines." I heard the guy mumble. Confused, I kept quiet, staying close behind him as we wove through the aisles.
We ducked under fallen shelves, the shots seeming to echo a little less loudly, and we'd almost made it to the back aisles when a figure jumped out of the shadows.
"Going somewhere, ace?" A dark voice asked.
Who was Ace?
The man the voice belonged to emerged. He had a creepy smile on his face, his features catlike, and my gaze flicked down to the red bandana on his wrist. The injured boy shoved me behind him and drew his gun, finger hovering over the trigger.
"Just trying to find the trashbags, but I think they accidentally shelved them on this aisle." He growled at the feline man.
It was a pretty shitty insult- but who was I to judge?
"Close your eyes, Mae." He hissed at me. I complied, and half a second later I heard his gun go off.
"Move this way."
He led me around what I assumed was the other man, and the iron scent of blood invaded my nostrils, making me want to gag.
I clamped my mouth shut and opened my eyes again, resuming our escape.
The boy suddenly veered to the right.
"Is that you, WinWin?" He called out.
"Yeah, and Yuta's with me. Did Ten turn your line back on?" A new voice, less deep this time, answered. I was pulled once more behind him, and two boys stepped out of the bread aisle.
What was I getting myself into?
"Never mind Ace, he just told me yours has a tech error." The first one continued.
My mind boggled.
This guy had bright blond hair, and the other had brown hair. Both were fairly tall, with masks over the lower half of their faces- and both had guns.
"Alright, thanks. How are we doing on the fighting?" The boy I was following, the one they had referred to as Ace, questioned.
The blonde paused for a moment, and that's when I noticed the tiny earpiece each of them wore.
"Apparently, Jisung and Chenle took care of the last of them, but Yuta and I saw a few of them get away." He informed.
I stood there in silence, my thoughts running wild, and the brunette said, "I'm assuming they're going back to their head, but we don't know much other than that Dream helped us clear out most of Yuseng's second team."
Ace, if that was truly his name, nodded. "Let's retreat, I'll get Taeil to track their location." He said. The other two turned away, calling out different names, and they walked out of sight.
I finally opened my mouth.
"That injury looks pretty bad." I commented, sounding much more put together than I actually was.
There were a million things I'd wanted to say to him; More than half of them were questions. But that was the first thing out of my mouth.
Well wasn't I just oh-so-smart?
"It's fine, the bullet only grazed it. I'm okay." He shrugged it off, but I didn't miss how he winced with each action.
"No, you're not. I can fix it." I insisted. I always had a first aid kit on me, and after all, I was majoring in medicine. I figured I could stitch the wound without too many problems, even though I didn't have my textbooks to guide me.
The boy did one last sweep of the demolished store, and seeming to deem it safe, he finally gave in.
"Okay, but we can't take too long." He said.
I motioned for him to hand me the backpack, and set it on the floor. Getting the hint, he sat down as I dropped to my knees, the coldness of the tile seeping beneath my uniform tights. I didn't even notice the runs that had formed in them.
"What's your name?" I asked, trying to be conversational.
"I can't tell you." He said abruptly.
Great.
I swallowed hard, switching my focus to his neck.
"It's still bleeding, but if I apply enough pressure it might stop enough for me to give you stitches." I explained. "But it might hurt..." I trailed off, unsure.
He was quick to cut in, "Just do it. I can't be seen in the hospital again."
Why couldn't he be seen?
Who is this boy?
What is happening to me?
I held back the questions on the tip of my tongue, and before I could second guess myself, I ripped some fabric from my plaid skirt and wrapped it around my right hand. Placing it over the wound, I started pressing down, and I had to bite my lip when he made sounds of pain. Joining that hand with the left, I kept applying pressure, and we sat in silence for a few moments.
I gave him a long, hard stare, trying to figure him out.
Yes, I would help him with his injury.
But did that mean that once I was finished with it, he would keep being friendly? I had no clue if this "Ace" was a good guy or not, so I decided not to ask any more questions. I wasn't sure I wanted to get any more tangled up than I already was.
I gently applied more pressure with my right hand, cringing when I heard him hiss in pain. "Mianhe." I whispered, reaching into my bag with my left for the emergency kit I always had.
I fumbled around a second before I finally got it, opening the lid and immediately grabbing the sterile wipes.
I knew he wasn't going to enjoy what came next, so I warned him in advance. "This is going to sting a little." I said softly, easing my hand off the wound, which had fortunately stopped bleeding- for now.
He gritted out an "okay," and I thanked my lucky stars that the bullet hadn't lodged itself into his skin; I didn't have enough experience to remove a bullet.
Still, it looked like I had my work cut out for me. There was a deep gash in his neck, red and obviously irritated.
I tried to be gentle with the tender skin, but there was no way around the pain, so I did my best to clean it up quickly and threaded the needle.
"This is going to sting a lot more. I'm so sorry, but there's nothing else I can do." I apologized, letting him know that the stitches would hurt.
He grunted, "It's alright, just go. They're gone, but when they come back I don't want us to be here, especially when we're so vulnerable."
I murmured another sorry and took a deep breath, steadying my shaking hands. I'd only done this once before, and it was nowhere near this severe.
The boy exhaled sharply as I began, patching him up seam by seam. It was slow work, and I felt awful every time he clenched his fists to chase away the pain.
The minutes dragged on for what seemed like forever. An eternity had passed until I was finally tying off the last stitch, and I ended up snapping the leftover thread with my teeth; which was, you know, just slightly awkward.
"I'm finished." My voice was wavering, and I avoided eye contact with the stranger while I gathered up my things.
I was about to shove the kit back into my bag when his hand stopped me.
"What are you-"
"Shh. Do you hear that?" He shushed me.
I froze, listening intently. I opened my mouth to say no, what had he heard, when the sound of a gun firing ripped through the store.
Again.
Shit.
Our eyes met, a look of terror in his that I was sure reflected my own, and I bit back a scream.
Before I could say a word, the boy had already slung my bag over his shoulder and was standing, his hand out to help me up. I grabbed it and he pulled me to my feet.
He made no move to let go. "What do we do?" I asked, coming scarily close to all-out losing my mind.
The ace's eyes darted wildly around until they landed on the forgotten back exit to the store. His grip on my hand tightened.
"Now," he said lowly, "is a good time to get away."
He quickly tugged me behind him while we darted over to the shattered door, the midmorning light ironically still bouncing off each broken glass piece. We hunkered down and he peered around the aisle corner before signaling that it was safe to move.
I followed his lead, carefully avoiding the shards littering the floor, and we crawled towards the opening. A bullet hit the shelves two rows down from me. It pinged against the metal, and ricocheted off to who knows where.
I moved faster.
We got to the doorway and the boy stood up, gun raised and hand poised over the trigger. I clambered up and joined him, gunless, standing shoulder to shoulder as we surveyed the mess.
It looked as if a bomb had went off in the store; and technically, that statement wouldn't exactly be a lie. My hands started trembling as I took in the wreckage, the scene of blood and debris scarring my mind.
A loud shout set my pulse into overdrive.
"Thought we were gone, Ace? You were wrong."
He tensed up and the gun swung to the right, where the shout had come from. I watched, feeling nothing but pure fear, and another man stepped out into the light.
He was tall and slender, and though he wore no mask, I could hardly make out his face. I could, however, clearly see the scarlet material tied onto his arm.
This is not going to end well.
"I see you've got a girl with you. My congratulations, she's very beautiful." The bandana man said silkily, staring at me with a malicious smirk. I wanted to hide from his eyes, to get rid of the nasty feeling under my skin when he looked. It sent chills down my spine, and not the good kind.
"I don't know her. She's just a civilian who got mixed up, leave her alone." The boy without the bandana spat, still brushing the trigger of the gun.
Bandana's left eyebrow shot up in surprise. "Oh? Well if that's the case, you wouldn't mind me taking her, no? She's quite a pretty little thing." He remarked.
I didn't like the way he spoke about me, as if I was some sort of toy, an item to be bought and played with. It made me livid.
The pressure built in me as I heard Ace growl, "I said leave her alone, Hansol. Keep her out of this."
A chuckle left the other boy's, I assumed Hansol's, mouth. "But what if I don't want to? I do admire pretty things, after all." He exclaimed.
I snapped.
"I am not some kind of possession!" I yelled with anger evident in my tone. "You're a sick bastard to be talking about people like that." I added, trying to make my voice sound dangerous.
But the attempt to be intimidating backfired; Hansol only laughed again, this time at me.
"And my, what a temper! She's a feisty one, I will say." He seemed amused, which only enraged me further.
I glared at him as he spoke. "I'll take her off your hands, Ace." The bandana man's arm reached behind him, and I impulsively stepped in front of Ace, lowering his gun.
He shot me a shocked expression, which I ignored. Turning to Hansol, I shouted, "Over my dead body."
A brief quiet settled over the three of us, and then Hansol's lip curled into an evil grin. I shuddered, but stood my ground.
The next words out of his mouth made me wish I hadn't.
"That's the idea, dear."
Then he moved his arm-
and everything went haywire.
In a split second, I was knocked to the ground as Ace shoved me to the side, drawing up his own gun and pulling the trigger.
My ears rang with the noise, and the world suddenly became foggy, the floor tilting this way and that.
A sharp pain erupted in my arm, but I paid it no mind as I watched the blurry outline of Ace enter my field of vision.
"Seun-Mae..."
He was saying something. I heard sounds, but it was as if I was underwater; everything was muted, including color.
The lights dancing behind my eyes seemed to steadily get brighter, and the last thing I registered was the scent of blood, before I felt myself being lifted into the air.
All I could hear, all I could feel, all I could see- it all faded into nothing.
A/N
Heyoooo, it's ya girl Ari!
So this is a gang au, which I've been wanting to do for a while. I hope you liked the first chapter, and the next one is on the way, but after that the updates may get a little slower. Thanks for reading, and I'll catch ya later!
xoxo,
ari™
{don't forget to vote!}
*yes, I'm aware that some geographic and locational information might be off and/or totally wrong, but let's just go with it for the sake of creativity, 'Kay? Lol thanks :)