"charley" a soft whisper hushes out from the trembling lips along with clouds forming as her warm breath comes in contact with the much colder enviornment. the metallic pole becomes her support while she pants out of exhaustion, clutching right side of her waist, wincing at the contact almost instantly and tilts her head down, face scrunching on seeing the thick fabric of the hoodie sticking to the fresh wound that needs some medical assistance.

the dog scoots closer to her, licking her hand as his tail waggles from side to side. aera smiles weakly at him and looks around, not seeing many people on the street at this time of the night, except for the one worker in the store across the street that says open 24/7 on it's board.

her eyes wander down again, patting the dog's head who follows the girl's limping state quietly. they were almost on the other side, when a voice rings in, making charley bark loudly as he steps forward to defend the injured girl.

"come back aera, enough of running now." the man says, raising his arms midair to show that he isn't armed and not a threat; because all in his right mind, with a skull-cracking bite force of the german shepherd present for the kid's defence, scaring her and forcefully taking her with him, wasn't an option.

the girl shakes her head, taking a step back as the man takes a step forward, holding his arm ahead and gesturing the dog to calm down. "charley, now!" aera commands and the five-year-old german shepherd, launches himself on the man, earning a groan from the man and a horrified glance from the lady in the store who come out quickly to help him get away from the dog.

aera turns around hastily, ready to sprint again, however her feet halt in her place as a blinding light advances towards her. time slows and her eyes glance back one last time, hearing loud groans of the man and a faint screaming voice of the lady who tries to scare the dog away from a distance. by the time she looks back, the light is too close, making her relax for a moment; it might be the end. then no more running. no more hiding. and just peace.

a shrill screeching sound brings her back to reality, the slow motion ends in a blink and a everything seems rushing. the motorcycle slides with to the side, generating sparks with the friction of the metal and the street; the man on the motorcycle, who fell at the side, letting out a low grunt of pain; charley who is busy tearing his prey's limbs off; the prey itself; and the store lady.

"charley! leave him and let's go!" aera says, finding an alley a few meters away and runs into the direction, suppressing the huge urge to stop by the motorcycle man and apologize to him for the accident that she caused. but right now, getting away is a bigger deal for her.

she glances back after coming a little far, sighing softly in relief as her eyes watch charley running towards her. the man's body and the store disappears in the darkness of the night, now being in a place much quieter than before.

a small smile tugs the corners of her thin lips upwards, the dark brown eyes staring at the canine who pants near her, sitting down as she crouches on the ground as well. they're in an alley. shouldn't be. but the safest place right now is unknown to aera and hiding is the best she can do.

charley stays close to her, not minding the hug from the girl to keep herself warm in a cold night of january. she stares up at the sky, not fascinated this time, instead a feeling of weariness dawns on her along with the dark grey clouds, the ones those hide the stars and the moon behind them. a shivers runs along her spine with the temperature dropping low and the wind pacing up gradually, swiveling the frizzy strands of her layer-chopped hair.

of course she knew running away from home was a tough task, especially when your home is the same as one of the biggest drug dealers and abductors in town. it wasn't until aera turned eleven that she realised something was wrong, morally wrong. the person she referred to as "daddy" was playing some kind of dirty game and pulling her in it too.

she remembers the first day she moved in with him, park minjoon, at the age of seven and became his lovely daughter in less than a month. he would buy all kinds of toys and chocolates and dresses and play princess with her, the only condition being that she should follow the rules.

do not go out of the mansion.

do not open any door without permission.

aera once had the audacity to go against him and learned to never disobey the man ever again. moreover it was the day she realised he can never be her father no matter how hard anyone tries, and she can never be perfect enough to be the kind of daughter he wished to have. by the time she turned thirteen the punishments had gotten much worse and painful, with all the electric current that ever ran through her body, a spark of getting away from him ignited inside her, and after weeks long of gathering enough courage and planning an escape out of his territory, two days ago it became the day she ran out to get away, to find a new life, or die finding a new life. but there was no way she could let herself be locked in that mansion, being a murderer's daughter and watch people dying before her eyes everyday.

aera's attention comes back to earth when charley shifts a little, standing up cautiously and looks around. a few footsteps huddle together, sounding closer and closer every second as if they were running towards the same direction. the girl gasps, shifting behind the dumpster, her index finger pressed on her lips as she gestures charley to stay quiet.

"i'm sorry, sir! please leave me!" a man cries, as he's pushed into the alley by another man.

aera closes her eyes tightly, clutching on the dog's fur to avoid having him pouncing on the strangers as they fight, more like one beating the other. she peeks out a little, a middle aged man is on the ground, groaning in pain, clutching his bleeding thigh while the other man is glaring down at him, having a gun pointing at the crying male.

it's too dark to make out any of their faces, but aera's certain that man holding the gun has tattoos inked on his hand. his hair is long and black, damp with, probably sweat. a dark chuckle rolls out of his lips, as he shakes his head shifting the bangs out of his face, making the dim streetlight fall on one side of his face. aera stares for a second, trying her best to recall if she ever saw the man, because if she did, he means nothing but danger.

the gunshot echoes quite loud despite the silencer, making her flinch. charley levels up in an instant, barking at the man whose attention now shifts to the dog, leaving the dead man's figure for a while.

he steps forward, tilting his head at the dog, "hey, how come you're here at this time?" his voice sounds deep, almost alarming for aera as her mind keeps reminding her of the weapon he's armed with. charley takes a defensive step forward, standing in a fashion that shouts out, do not come near her or you'll be having your arm torn off.

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a/n- please vote of you liked the chapter! take care 🤗