chapter one ㅡ a first encounter

Takada Kenta was not someone who went looking for trouble.

Being the cautious, responsible, Straight-A student he was, the thought of being involved in anything illegal had never crossed his mind. Sure, he knew he couldn't predict the future. The phrase "shit happens" was all too familiar to the boy.

It's just that one never really expects things like this to happen to themselves.

The time was about 7:00 PM. Kenta could be found relaxing on his couch, a store bought bottle of tea in hand, staring at the living room's television as he silently flipped through channels.

The only sound other than the occasional click of the remote was the microwave running, heating up a bag of instant popcorn from the supermarket. It eventually finished its job, the beeping alert of the microwave grabbing Kenta's attention.

The Takada parents had been kind enough to let their son stay in their vacation home during his break from school. They knew he'd rather spend a break without the constant supervision of his mother and father; after all, what college kid in his right mind would want to stay with their parents when instead they could spend their time as they pleased?

Regardless, that vacation home of theirs was exactly where Kenta stayed nowㅡ far away from home, but not uncomfortably far. He was familiar with the town, having visited a few times when he was younger. He didn't like the idea of traveling somewhere else during just a short break, so the situation he was in currently was optimal.

As he lazily stood up from his place of rest, he began to trudge over to the kitchen.

That was when the sound of a loud, frantic knocking at the door erupted, causing the poor Japanese boy to shriek and drop the television remote which he was (for some reason) still holding.

After momentarily gathering his wits, and ignoring the scent of the now finished popcorn in the microwave, he quickly trotted over to the door. With the mindset that the knocker was probably only a salesperson, trying to get him to buy something, he approached the door with suspicion.

Swinging open the door, he was immediately taken aback by the person he saw. A boy, seemingly around his age, had a small black backpack slung over his shoulder. Obviously out of breath from running, the boy took a moment to calm himself before speaking.

"Please let me into your house. I know it's incredibly stupid and dangerous to let random people into your house, but the police are after me and there's nowhere nearby to hide," the boy asked, looking behind him towards the darkened street anxiously.

Kenta paused as his brain processed the situation. Fuck it, why not let the fugitive into his house? 

"Uh? Sure, come in, why not?" he awkwardly responded, stepping away from the door as to let the other male enter.

"Really?! Oh my god, you're the best," the boy's expression lit up, eagerly dashing into the small house and shutting the door behind him. Kenta watched his unexpected guest as the male made sure the door was securely locked and checked that all the windows were closed.

"If I'm hiding you from the police, you better 'fess up and tell me what you did, at least. You better not have killed anyone," Kenta demanded, a hint of impatience showing in his tone. 

"No, no! I didn't kill anyone. My friends and I just stole some stuff," the boy spoke, waving his hands in a gesture of dismissal. 

"You stole what, exactly? I need details," Kenta pressed. Sure, it probably wasn't the best idea to provoke someone who was running from the police, but all his caution had flown out the window the moment he'd let the guy into his house.

Rather than reply, the guy simply tossed his backpack to Kenta. Catching the object, Kenta was surprised at how heavy it was. "What is in here... HOLY SHIT," Kenta remarked, having reached into the bag and pulled out a jeweled necklace that clearly wasn't made of cheap plastic gems.

"How did you guys steal so much jewelry...?" Kenta whispered in awe, digging through the piles of precious items within the bag.

Another knock came on the door, causing both boys attention to turn to the house's entrance. 

The newcomer quickly dashed into another room as Kenta set the filled backpack behind a nearby chair. He made his way to the door and cautiously opened it, coming face to face with a man dressed in police uniform.

"Sir, we're currently searching for a man involved in the robbery of a fine jewelry store. By any chance have you recently seen anything suspicious?" the officer asked, leaning on the open doorframe.

"No... wait! Actually, there was someone who passed by my house a few minutes ago. He seemed to be heading to the highway near here," Kenta blurted out, saying literally whatever came to his mind. For added affect, he reached out and pointed outside towards the direction of the mentioned road.

The policeman nodded, taking the statement into note. "Guys, bring the car around! The man says he went towards the highway!" the police officer yelled out to a few of his partners who were scattered about the street. After quickly thanking Kenta, the man scurried off to join his comrades.

Kenta shut the door, not sure whether to feel guilty or accomplished.

"Are they gone?" the other male said, popping out of the spare room. 

"Yeah. That guy seemed nice, I feel kinda bad for him," Kenta commented, retrieving the backpack from behind the chair and handing it to its owner.

"You never told me your name, you know. It's getting kinda weird to keep thinking of you as 'that guy in my house'," Kenta spoke, leaning against the wall next to him.

"I'm Kim Donghan. I trust you won't call the police on me after already lying to them," the boy, Donghan, spoke assuredly, subtly eyeing the other boy.

"My name's Takada Kenta, and you're right, I won't," he stated, confirming what Donghan had said.

Donghan quickly glanced around his surroundings, taking note of what was in the room.

"Do you have a back door? I need to meet up with my friends soon to make sure they didn't get arrested, but I don't want to just walk out onto the street," he asked, looking towards the back of the house.

"Yep, my back door is through that hallway," Kenta replied, gesturing to the said place.

Donghan made his way over to Kenta, reaching into his bag. "But first, turn around," he commanded. Kenta blinked, unsure of how to reply.

"Why?" he asked. Donghan didn't reply, and simply waited for Kenta to do as told.

He hesitantly faced the other direction, hearing the sound of Donghan digging through his bag of jewelry. Next thing he knew, Donghan reached over his shoulders, placing a dainty silver necklace around his neck and clasping it in the back.

Kenta looked down at the small charm adorning the necklace, then turned back towards Donghan, his expression showing he needed at explanation.

"A gift. For helping me," Donghan said, giving Kenta a small smile. 

"I should get going. You said the back door was over here?"  he continued, pointing at the correct exit. 

"Yeah, you got it. Um, good luck?" Kenta spoke, not sure exactly what to be saying at the moment.

"Thanks again, cutie. I'll see you around!" Donghan returned cheerfully, zipping up his backpack and swiftly leaving the house.

Kenta stood for a moment, blankly staring at the direction in which Donghan had left.

What the hell had just gone down?

chapter one ㅡ end.