↤P A R A D I G M↦

一

Well, that little boy died a long time ago.

That meek little kid who grew up into an independent, strong, brave, cocky man, nicknamed Joong by his friends, Joongie by the orphans and unfortunate kids that roamed his now established territory, and Captain Joong by the parents of some of these kids, and other adults that lived there.

That was almost 10 years ago, now that Hongjoong thought about it while getting his hair braided by the neighbourhood kids. Only 4 years ago had he brutally slain his father in a desperate attempt to escape. No bitterness, or guilt, plagued his mind. The only thing that plagued his mind was-

"OW!"

Hongjoong whipped around to glare at Stacy, one of the girls that had practically kidnapped him to braid his hair because they were "bored". Stacy stood with a strand of his hair in her little face, face filled with shock. "S-Sorry Joongie..." her eyes began to well up with tears as Hongjoong's glare softened slightly. The other kids stepped back as he stood up and hugged her tight. "Don't worry Stace, it's fine, it's fine, it was just a strand, it only shocked me a little, I'm sorry," he picked her up and pouted at her, which made her giggle and grab his face before he set her down. 

Hongjoong grinned at them all before bending slightly down to tell them, "Alright, I've gotta go now, but I'll be back with food and some more clothes, and those dolls you love so much Jiwoon," he pinched the little boy's cheek before jumping the wall that bordered the community home. He waved to all the elderly people as he sprinted down the street climbing walls and jumping across rooves to make it in time for market rush hour.

Hongjoong had learned from the best thief he knew, himself. All those years of being sent out to steal from the market stalls full of over-priced goods that weren't worth all that money by his father really payed off in the long run. At least he could thank the prick for that. Shaking these really weird thoughts out of his head, Hongjoong leapt down into the alleyway 3 blocks away from the market, and walked out of it like nothing was amiss. 

He strolled leisurely down the street. He occasionally got looks from the random civilian, but Hongjoong was completely oblivious. Oblivious of the merchant daughter women whispering about his looks, and how would be such a catch. He rocked up at the market, mask already in place and mullet hidden in a cap, completely unrecognisable at a glance, but if any of the merchants and traders took one closer look, they'd know him alright. "Hello," Hongjoong went to the vendor he always goes to, the one that acts like he doesn't know or remember him, just so he can get kids he always see starve some food.

Hongjoong knows, of course, he's a know it all, but plays along with it because...free stuff.

"Hello, we have a wide array of fruits and meats here today, you can have a look at them, but I'm going to have to pop out back for a sec!" the vendor runs to the back of the stall, presumably waiting for Hongjoong to leave with a few fruits and his normal selection of meats so that he can get back to normal work. Hongjoong clapped his hands and opened his bag. Did I mention he had a bag?

"Okay so...Lilith wants Oranges, Hyejoon wants Strawberries, Jiwoon wants Clementines, weird kid, umm..." Hongjoong listed the kids requests off as he shoved bags of them into his backpack. He then left grinning under the mask, his next destination the bakers, then the next the green grocers, then the final place, the doll emporium. 

He nicked loaves of bread and packs of cupcakes, along with an entirely new set of the Little Woods dolls that Jiwoon loved so much. Veggies and a new potted plant was also stolen, and he made his return via roof again. It was the daily routine for him, has been for 4 whole years. Stealing, sharing, enjoying, and stealing again. 

Hongjoong would occasionally gaze up at the castle from the slums, imagining the prince's luxurious life, surrounded by people who served him, and only him, money, endless food, etc.

It made him mad.

Mad that the royals don't care about the poorer people, only about the tax payers and the rich that draw in the income. What was the point of having leaders if they did absolutely nothing?! 

A frown adorned his face as him jumped down into the Community home's courtyard, and yelled out, "Food's here!" 

People came running ready to see what Captain Joong, or Joongie, had retrieved from his escapade. "Okay so cooking staff, get to work on making dinner, it's already 5PM, kids, go help out, except for you Jiwoon, stay here for a bit, Jessica go ahead and stock up on the women's hygiene cabinet, everyone else, just relax until dinner's ready!" He grinned around at everyone and people smiled back, taking the cue and settling into different areas of the large house/building, and the courtyard that bordered it. 

"Jiwoon, guess what I got!" Hongjoong pulled the dolls out of his bag and pushed it over to Jiwoon, who dashed up and hugged him around the waist. "Thank you thank you thank you!!" he jumped off of Hongjoong and grabbed the dolls, waving over at his friends, pointing at the box and grinning wildly as he jogged over to them. Hongjoong watched as they tore the box apart and began to play  with the old and new dolls. 

It was an adorable sight.

"You spoil him too much," Jessica, a kindly 37 year old lady in charge of the hygiene cupboards stationed around Hongjoong's territory, stood next to him, her sudden speaking out shocking Hongjoong out of his daze. "Well, that's because he reminds me of me," Hongjoong continued to softly smile at the kids chasing eachother around with the dolls squealing. Jiwoon's dad was also like Hongjoong's, that's why Hongjoong killed him too. His mum was nowhere, and Jiwoon had said when asked, that "Mummy has just gone out for a bit, she'll be back".

It saddened Hongjoong to hear and remember. The kid had a shitty family, and that's why Hongjoong would do everything to protect him, and the other kids. Everyone who had joined his domain will remain fed and healthy, or he isn't a good leader.

"Okay then," Jessica sighed then held his shoulder, "you're gonna have to go out again, the men's hygiene cupboard is running low."

"Alright," Hongjoong ran over to help the staff set up the giant table for everyone to sit at, Jessica right next to him. He laughed with them all as Jiwoon ran over to Hongjoong and begged for a piggy back while he went inside to help serve the food. Hongjoong complied, and soon he was wearing Jiwoon like a little back pack as he held semi scalding dishes and laid them out in an aesthetically pleasing way so that they could all eat, Hongjoong was big on the aesthetic of things. 

And the night air of the slums was filled with laughter and chatter as they had another filling dinner thanks to Captain Kim Hongjoong.