Surface [BTS] ✓

. namjoon .

Kim Namjoon. Hacker. He was a child prodigy like Min Yoongi, quick with his senses and admired by his own teachers. The boy was an orphan, raised by his uncle and aunt. At the age of 12, both of them died in a hit-and-run incident. Kim Namjoon was left, abandoned and alone. He ran out of finance and dropped out of school. No one would take him. The government had tried to put him in an orphanage but he ran out on several occasions and finally got lost permanently after the fifth incident. Rumours say that he was bullied severely by the other kids in the orphanage and could not take the stress. He was found by danger and hired in as their hacker. Note that these rumours cannot be confirmed.

year 2014

It was winter. Namjoon's lips trembled as he smiled ever so slightly, watching the snowflakes fall from the sky and caress the road, stumbling together in groups and blending into piles of glorious white which were quickly then contaminated into patches of grey and brown by the mud and dirt sprayed mercilessly on their surfaces by car tires of passerby's shoes.

He had but a thin layer of cloth enveloping his frail body, the translucent black barely providing any warmth. Huffs of smoke left his chapped lips as his monolidded eyes struggled to stay open, the cold seeming to wear him out, his heart freezing as his fingertips turned stiff and bones creaked as he shifted. In the alleyway, the boy hugged himself, knees touching his chest as he huddled on the ground, his only company being the shadow of himself, stretching towards the walls. It was his birthday today and yet the only present he had gotten was the discarded half-bitten blueberry pancake he had found in the trash for breakfast and the a frayed red and green scarf with several holes that had become his newest article of clothing.

Death. I wish for death. Wait, he couldn't be so negative. He had survived until now, feeding off scraps and avoiding gangsters, bowing as they passed him in stylish clothing and cigarettes. Sometimes, they offered him one and he took them with shaky fingers wrapped in cloth and bandages, bowing in 90 degree angles, sometimes even kneeling in sheer fright, heart beating erratically against his thin rib cage. A new life. I wish for a new life. Please. 

He had made a wish every year after his aunt and uncle died. At first, he had wished that the children in the orphanage would stop bullying and taunting him. He still remembered their claws coming viciously, fingers tugging harshly on his hair as they lifted his body, dunking him into the toilet seat and pushing him so he could not breathe, the horrible stink filling his nostrils as liquid passed through his mouth, tears mixing in with the water. He remembered how they'd flush afterwards, the intense current making him choke. Sometimes, it wasn't even the kids. The caretakers themselves would get frustrated at his relentless murmurs, his writings on the walls that were actually codes, passages to new worlds in technology. They didn't understand. They never could. Instead, they'd beat him when he'd doodle on the walls, screaming and pulling at his ears, the cane rods would leave large red and purple marks on his backs, painting a canvas of black and blue.

He'd escape by himself after that, no longer able to take the abuse. Afterwards, he thanked God for actually assisting in his escape. He'd manage to slip past the caretakers and when they'd neared him at an alleyway, he'd found an open door to a secret storage room and had quickly entered it with his short stubby legs. He remembered hot tears streaming down his face. They weren't tears of sadness anymore. They were tears of happiness.

After that, he had stopped wishing for a stop to the bullying. He started wishing for things he actually wanted, a computer, new skateboard. He'd stop wishing for those after that as well, realizing that for those things to become a reality, he'd actually had to have money. 

"Kim Namjoon." 

Out of pure instinct, the boy immediately bowed down, forehead touching the floor.

"Please, sir. Some money. Please. Just some to buy food. Please," he muttered out, gulping down some of his saliva and letting his palms feel the frostiness of the floor, the cold making his skin hurt a little, turning it into a rosy pink.

He heard a small thud resound on the floor. Widening his eyes, he thanked the man profusely without properly looking at his features, fingers crawling towards the object. His fingers wrapped around cold metal, smooth and polished. Looking up, his forehead creased, eyebrows furrowing in shock and amazement. A phone. 

"Kim Namjoon. Child prodigy, amazing in the IT field, amazing at the hacking field too. He had once wanted to become a game developer. Impressive resumé." the boy sung out in a mocking tune, feet casually stepping towards him.

Namjoon lifted his head with the little confidence he had, eyes shrinking to narrow slits as recognition painted his features. Jeon Jeongguk. The man's father was famous, one of the biggest gang lords : ruthless, merciless, no conscience whatsoever. Immediately, he bowed down again, kneeling in fright, "Mr. Jeon! I'm so sorry! I didn't realize it was you! Please forgive me for the eye contact."

The boy made a 'tsk' sound, clicking his tongue as he knelt down and lifted Namjoon's chin so his gaze met his, "I'm not my father, Mr. Kim. I want to start a new era. I want to bring justice where justice cannot be brought. A new team of intelligent individuals and we need a hacker," he gave a friendly smile, patting the boy's head although the latter was obviously older than him before standing back up, straightening his back and smoothing down his coat, "If you ever want to contact me, use the phone. You'll learn quickly."

And with those final words, he turned around, heels clicking on the floor as the noise echoed and rung throughout the freezing alleyway.

Namjoon's jaw hung open in awe, his hands hugging the phone closely to his chest, still unable to believe what had just happened.

"Oh, and Mr. Kim?" the boy shouted out, not turning around,

"Happy Birthday."

[ character intro ; kim namjoon ; completed ]

hello everyone!

Wow, that was really tense. I hope you guys enjoyed it!

- Juverine