The next time he wakes up, he finds a ceiling over his head. What was once a dark sky filled with twinkling stars, this time the top of a hut greets his gaze.
He slowly blinks, feeling his face numb, no doubt from the punches he had received from the soldier. He moves his body and lets out an inhale when he no longer feels the pain cursing through his bones.
His head tilts up a bit, finding himself laid on a wooden sofa. The first thing his eyes lays upon when he looks up is the small kitchen located right in front of him and a figure who stands and working around it.
His body freezes.
Frail and small, the figure of a female stands before a stove, no doubt cooking the source of which the salivating smell was coming from. Her body adores a knee sized silk white frock and her jet black hair falls down to her hips, soft and shiny as she works.
She was barefoot and her shoulders were relaxed, making him release the tension in his own body when he senses no danger around.
It takes him a moment to remember and his eyes widen at the back of the female when it hits him.
She was the one who cut off his cuffs.
He fully goes to sit up on his place and everything was so silent that the sudden voice of his shirt dragging up against the sheet of the sofa had the female tensing up. She snaps her head around and his breath is caught in his throat the very moment.
Wide doe eyes stare at him and he can not help but stare back. Feature soft like her figure, he drinks in the innocent gaze of her eyes. For a second, he is convinced that the figure before him is a child but many of her other features gave her away.
Her small pouty lips part, apple round cheeks dusting a pretty blush. "Baba.." She calls. "He is awake." She informs someone, voice light.
He sits still in his place, gaze never wavering away as he hears the thumping of heavy steps approaching the living room. A man skips out of a door while whipping his wet hand with a cloth.
The young man turns his eyes towards the elder man who smiles at him, eyes kind and features gentle. "How do you feel now, son?"
The young man racks his eyes over the elder man before giving a small nod. He sits up straight in his place as the elder approaches him and takes a seat in front of him.
"My daughter saw you with the north soldier." The elder informs, pointing his eyes towards the female in the room. The younger man glance at her, finding her still gazing at them with tense shoulders.
"Did not have any choice so I shot him after witnessing him aggressive. We brought you here after you fainted and tended your injuries here and there. Do you remember?" The elder questions.
"Yes.." The younger man clears his throat, finding them raw and hoarse from the little use of vocals for the past many hours.
"My name is Min Ji-kyung and that is my daughter Y/n. We have been here for months, stuck in the north to escape to the south. What should we call you?" The elder asks.
The younger man takes a moment before mumbling. "..Jeon Jungkook."
"My son. You must be hungry. Y/n, be a dear and get us some food. Jungkook here must regain his strength back. Poor man looks frail." The older man turns to his daughter while dragging a small wooden stool from the side of the living room.
Y/n waits a second before turning on her heels and grabbing the tray she had prepared. Jungkook watches from under his grown bangs as she carries the tray towards the stool placed between them.
He ducks his head down and holds his breath when she comes to stand before them and slowly place the tray down.
"Enjoy.." She whispers to both him and her father before backing away and walking towards the kitchen again.
Jungkook looks down at the two bowls of soup that sits before him and his mouth waters at the sight. He has not had anything to eat for days.
Mr. Min grabs a bowl and rest it before him. "Have some."
Jungkook gulps before timidly sitting straight in his place. Mr. Min smiles as he watch the man before him hesitantly picking up the spoon.
The first spoon of the delicious hot liquid had Jungkook sighing as his parched throat turn wet. He can not help but lean in for more.
After a few spoons in and the man has let his guards down, Mr. Min speaks. "I guess you were on your way to the south. Did you escape the north slavery?"
Jungkook's actions slow down at the words before he nods. "Yes.. my family rests on the other side."
"What slavery did you do?" Mr. Min further inquires.
"On the streets. Me and my brothers used to sell street food." Jungkook refers to his other six friends, gulping down his food.
"And what happened to your brothers?"
"They all escaped one by one to the south. Now it is my turn to escape." The young man informs, his eyes flickering up to the older man before him. When he sees that the elder is busy with his food, he allows himself to glance towards his left where he finds the female sitting far away in the kitchen, slowly eating her food.
He looks back when he hears Mr. Min hum. "Is that how you all planned to escape? If so, then that is a clever idea."
"We did," Jungkook informs, before looking up at the man. "..How long have you been here?"
"Eight months." The man answers, meeting his eyes. "We left the north after my wife died. She used to be one of the counselors. With the power she had, I did not have to worry about my daughter being dragged to slavery. With all the women who were being sold at that time, I did not have any choice but to leave behind everything I build to save my daughter. Slave to those powerful greedy men and women would not even be the last thing my daughter does." Despite his words being firm, his eyes swirl into many emotions at the loss of his wife.
Jungkook stares at him before turning his head around to stare at the female. He watches how small she sits in her place, no doubt have heard their conversation. Her teeth abuse the bottom of her lip as she stares blankly at the bowl of soup in front of her. Her shoulders were tense and he notices her hands trembling when she lifts them to tug at the few strands of her hair.
He can see why her father wanted so much to protect the only precious thing left to him. The girl looks so harmless and delicate, scared of the world around her. The only protection she feels is in the arms of her aged father.
He turns back to face the man again. "Have you tried reaching the great walls?"
The man nods. "I did. But to no avail, I could not get through. The walls are way too thickly build. It seems they have build them to never take them down."
Jungkook wants to laugh bitterly at the words. Who knew he will be standing in front of the wall one day, wanting it taken down when he was one of the workers who helped build that wall. His small palms carried heavy bricks for the wall. He was so young when the north councilors forced the homeless to work for them to build the wall, making them work under the glaring sun.
No matter how young he was at that time, he still remembers every pain like it was just yesterday.
He knew escaping would be difficult, but not this difficult.
"How did the soldiers never reach here? Is this hut hidden?" Jungkook questions.
"We are further up in the mountains. The soldiers are too lazy to check up here so we never got caught. But in case they did, then let us just say that we are good at pretending that no one is home." Mr. Min replies, smiling at the young man.
Jungkook blinks, admiring the man sitting before him. He has thought everything through just so he could keep his daughter safe.
"Now eat up before the soup gets cold. We will talk further later." Mr. Min motions towards his food. "You are free to stay if you want. Maybe that way, we will get to the other side soon without any injury."
Jungkook nods his head, leaning to finish his food.
He is right. They can get to the other side quickly if they work alongside each other. He has been out here for months. He knows the way to get to the south easily than Jungkook does.
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I have mentioned the south and the north alot. Keep in mind that they are an important part of this story. And also the other boys. They will appear soon. How do you guys like it this far? When I tell you guys, this book is gonna be iconic. I have all of the plot thought out, just need time to write it down.
Leave lots of love in your way.
💜