Illegal | nct

I

Chapter One

Areum's POV

Tick, tock, tick, tock. As the clock's hands neared midnight, I pushed the soft fabric of my curtains back as I peered down from my bedroom window. Pressing my hand against the cool glass of the pane, I gazed down onto the main road of my block, it was a Tuesday night so there was not a soul wandering around at this odd hour. The empty street stared back at me, streetlights dimly illuminating the asphalt. The moon was out tonight too, casting luminous shadows across the floor of my room.

I glanced back at the clock, the hand slowly making it's way towards towards the five-minute mark. Just as I had anticipated, the roar of an engine was heard and a yellow cab pulled up to the front of the building, a man in a sleek black suit stepped out from the right side of the vehicle, he stumbled around for a good minute before weakly pulling his wallet out of his back pocket. He handed the driver some money before leaning in to the front widow and saying something unintelligible after which the said man laughed a drunken laugh as the cab pulled away.

The man continued staggering his way towards the building, after a few minutes passed, a sharp knock was heard at the front door. I quickly got up from beside my window, curtly pulling the curtain back to it's original position. I took a sharp inhale as the banging on the front door got louder, this time mixed in with the sound of strong kicks. I slowly opened my bedroom door and tiptoed to the front of the house. I braced myself for what was to come.

Unlatching the door, I turned the door knob and stepped back upon opening it. The man then tripped his was inside and faced me.

"Areum!" He yelled in my face, the strong stench of alcohol clouded the air I was breathing. A deep frown was set in his face as he took a hold of my chin and pushed my face to the side. "Does it really take that long to open the door for your father?!" He shouted again, slamming the door shut with his leg. "S-sorry dad." I replied meekly as I looked of to the side. "Really." He breathed out as a wave of anger washed over him. He proceeded to smash the alcohol bottle in his hand on to the floor as he let out a scream. He ran his fingers through his hair and turned back towards me.

"I want you to get out." He grunted, glaring at me. When I didn't respond to him, he screamed again, "GET OUT. I TOLD YOU TO GET OUT OF MY SIGHT. I DONT WANT YOU HERE!"

With that said, I fumbled with the doorknob before turning it and exiting the toxic premises of the house. I took a deep breath and sprinted down the hallway of the building. Throwing the door to the stairway open, I leaped down the stairs until I got to the ground floor.

A cool breeze hit my face as I walked down the empty streets of the neighbourhood. Could I get kidnapped? Why yes, I may also be raped and murdered, but none of that mattered to me at this point. Having a monster of a father is more than enough to make a young girl like me step out onto the dangerous streets of Seoul, given the current time I would say it's an optimum moment for all things illicit to happen. This wasn't the safest neighbourhood either. Most drug dealers were found in this part of the city, selling their wares to innocent young children. Kidnapping was rampant over here too. I would say I had about a five percent chance of seeing the sun the next day.

Being familiar with all the hideouts, alleyways and empty shops gave me a slightly more chance of surviving. I was used to escaping my house at odd hours of the night anyways.

I had decided to camp out in one of the empty alleys, about a half a mile walk from my house. The alleyway was always unoccupied which made it an ideal place to spend the night, but I can't always be sure of that.

I took a turn and plopped myself down onto the cold hard cement ground. I stuck my earphones in and played some music. Instagram by Dean was the first song. The melodious tune filled my head as I leaned back onto the wall, my emotions detangling with the soothing music.

Life wasn't easy, and I learnt that the hard way. Living with an abusive father was just one of the reasons why I felt like life was useless. Of course there were other factors which added to this whole mess called my existence. Sure, there was the stuff that normal people with normal lives had to deal with, like grades, friends, popularity, etc. But at this point, I was surviving, not living.

The music continued to play and I continued to question my existence like I didn't already. An alley cat slowly approached me and seemed to have made home in my leg. I gently stroked it's fur as it purred against my touch. "Hard day, huh?" I asked it. The cat purred back in reply. "Yeah, me too." I knew I was slowly losing my mind considering the fact that I had just started up a conversation with a freaking cat, but I didn't care at this point, some company was better than none.

I looked up and felt my heart leap into my throat. A person sat on top of the dumpster, watching me, look of curiosity on his face as he gazed upon me. His fingers gripped onto a lit cigarette and in the other hand was a lighter. I slowly felt my pocket and sure enough, I had my pocket knife on me.

The man jumped off of the dumpster, his face now visible as it was illuminated by the nearby store sign.

"Talking to a cat, eh?" He said, voice slightly raspy due to the smoke. He strode slowly towards me, feet dragging on the floor as he walked. "What do you want from me?" I questioned, pushing myself off the ground. "Y'know," the man continued, "you could be a bit more polite seeing as this is our first encounter." The corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk. He tossed the cigarette on to the ground in front of him, stepping on it as he continued to stalk towards me.

"I don't have to be polite to an ass like you." I sneered at him. "Watch your step cuz I have a knife." I pulled the shiny object out of my pocket and and pointed it towards him. The man simply laughed at me before continuing. "And I have a gun, princess. What's new?" My eyes widened at his statement and he seemed to be taking joy in my fear.

"Now can we make this a smooth conversation?" He tilted his head to the side. I was taken aback at how extremely good looking he was, with his dyed silver-gray hair falling into his eyes as he moved his head. He had a sharp jawline that looked like it could cut through glass and his eyes shone with a mischievous gleam. He was wearing a sleeveless white shirt with ripped jeans. This dude was hot.

"Once you're done checking me out, I mean." He smirked again. "I didn't- I wasn't-"

"Save it for later." He stuck his hand out for me to shake, his gaze penetrating my soul as he smiled at me. "The name's Taeyong."

A/N

I'm writing a fanfic instead of studying for my exams. Yay.

Don't forget to vote and comments are always welcome :)

Word count: 1322

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