Chapter Text
Breathe.
His chest was heaving, he couldn’t remember the last time he had ever run that fast.
Breathe, Donghyuck, breathe.
It was raining, the cold droplets running through his deep brown strands of hair, down his face and dripping into his mouth as he gasped desperately for breath, his head tilted upwards towards the dark sky. His eyes, shut tightly, were wild underneath his eyelids, amidst an onsetting panic causing his hands to tremble.
He had fallen against a brick wall, hidden among the shadows of the alleyway and the presence of a grimey old trash bin. The air was thin and, besides the reeking odor of the garbage, he could smell a hint of a bakery down the street, it’s doors now wide open as Donghyuck heard the officer questioning its owners if they had seen him or any of his accomplices come that way. The smell of sweet cakes and cookies and other delicacies seemed almost cruel, and Donghyuck wondered for a moment when the last time he had ever had something like that before.
He couldn’t remember.
As he sat there, trying to heave in breaths while staying quiet, he didn’t know what he was more scared of- the officer himself, his sleek black uniform parading down the street and swinging around his taser in all its glory, or the fact that he had absolutely no clue where his friends had ended up. He didn’t know if they had been caught and were being dragged away to face whatever horrid punishment would be given in the name of “peace and justice”, or if they had managed to get out of the district, slip out of the city unnoticed and safe. He didn’t know.
It had begun like any other normal night- stuffing the paint cans into Renjun’s backpack, Jaemin double checking the security cameras and then whining that he never got to go with them as per usual. It was a risky practice- slipping through the irregularity in the fence that thankfully no one had come to notice yet, hiding in the sleeping city’s shadows unnoticed while they marked up a few walls speaking their protest. It was all they could do- the people within the city didn’t listen to the ones cast outside unless it ended up with their pristine white buildings touched with unwanted color. It was supposed to be a normal night- one minute, he was carrying out the same old business rattling up the cans of spray paint and stretching his arms far and wide to make big, bold letters, watching Renjun and Jeno do the same. Hear Us, he wrote.
Or was supposed to write.
Everything went wrong the moment Donghyuck heard the yelling of an officer that wasn’t supposed to be there and a flashlight revealing his face for the whole world to see. His heart dropped to his stomach and the only thought that was fully processing in his head was screaming at him to run .
He didn’t know where the other two had ended up. It all happened too fast. They could be anywhere, anywhere at all. It had all gone wrong, so terribly wrong, and Donghyuck wanted to scream. He couldn’t tell if he was crying or if it was just the countless amount of raindrops that were running down his face, but either way he felt terrible. He felt like he was about to vomit.
But he couldn’t. He didn’t have the time. He had to get out of there, because sooner or later the officer will have checked behind every trash bin in every alley and he had to make damn sure he wasn’t behind any of them.
He clasped his hands together, attempting to stop them from trembling so much. “Just breathe,” he whispered to himself, closing his eyes for just a moment so that maybe he could calm himself down- even if just a little bit- before he had to get up and beeline out of there. In the rain. In the dark.
The footsteps of the officer’s boots on the wet concrete sidewalk was becoming more and more defined by the second, sending chills down Donghyuck’s spine every time they got closer. His heart was pounding and he was sure the officer would be able to hear it. He was so fearful. He’d never been in this kind of situation before but he knew all too well the tales of people like him in the hands of the city’s government. It was enough to keep all but a few a safe distance from even the fence itself. And he almost regretted it for a moment, wishing that he had chosen to live in safety, but then he remembered that if he didn’t do what he did, there wouldn’t be many willing to take his place.
Closer. Too close for comfort now. Donghyuck could almost hear the officer’s breathing over the patter of the rain on the trash bin’s lid. Maybe he wouldn’t notice, maybe he would move on and check somewhere else.
He wouldn’t.
In a split moment, Donghyuck knew. He knew he had to go. So before he could even mentally prepare himself to be up again he was on his feet, head poking around the trash bin to eye a clear line of escape. With a shaky breath, he clenched his fists with every scrap of determination left in him.
And he ran.
-------
“So, what are you doing for your final project?”
Mark turned his gaze away from his locker, towards the girl leaning against the one next to his, her eyebrows raised almost sarcastically. Yerim, her arms crossed questioningly as she waited for him to give a response.
“I already said,” Mark tried to avoid the question, in attempt to hide his embarrassment. He didn’t want to admit that he actually didn’t know, at least not in that class- where everyone was expecting the mayor’s son to do something big and grand as his final project before he went off to some prestigious university. That’s what everyone expected of him, and if he had admitted there, in front of the guidance teachers and his peers, that he actually had no idea where he was even supposed to start, he would of suffered too much embarrassment.
So of course he’d made up some half-believable excuse that he and his father were still discussing his options, but Yerim knew him too well to know that he was a terrible liar. Of course she did.
“Don’t bullshit me, Mark, I want to know for real. You do know that the final pitch for your project has to be in by the end of this week right?” she countered him, joining his side as he closed his locker and began to make his way to the front doors.
“I have time, don’t worry,” Mark laughed it off, shrugging his shoulders.
“Mark, it’s Wednesday.”
Mark let out a small groan, his thumbs latching onto his backpack straps while his other fingers flailed about in frustration. “I know , I just really don’t know, you know?”
Yerim held in a laugh, practically watching steam come out of Mark’s head as he tried to contemplate what he was supposed to do. Mark knew he couldn’t just do something small and lame, however with the time left he had, he wasn’t sure that he could scheme something as grand as everyone was expecting.
“What are you doing?” Mark glanced up from the ground, hoping Yerim would give him some sort of inspiration to start. If he was being truthful he hadn’t been listening to everyone else’s responses as he was trying to make one up himself, so he had missed what Yerim stated as hers.
“Me? If you’d been listening, I’m making a documentary thing on the Perfect system,” Yerim replied with ease, not failing to show Mark she had obviously thought everything through many days prior. “I’ve always been interested in the actual science behind it, since they never really went in depth about it in school. And, you know, my mom.”
“Ah,” Mark nodded in approval. “That’ll be interesting.” He paused for a moment, thinking. “Wait, since when do you have editing skills to do a documentary?”
“I have friends to help me,” she boasted to him, giving him a wide grin. “Because I’m actually not a loser like you and have more than one friend.”
Mark opened his mouth in shock. “I do have more friends than you!”
Yerim stopped them both after walking in front of Mark, twisting around so that she was facing him in the middle of the school yard they had arrived in, mobs of other students walking by in hurried footsteps. “Oh really? Name one.”
Mark scratched the back of his head, suddenly at a loss for words. He really did believe there were others, he did, but the more he truly thought about it the more he found himself in the same place, trying not to catch Yerim’s “I told you so” gaze being casted upon him with her full aura.
After a while of painful silence Mark was ready to admit defeat to her, and he was about to lift his head to meet her eyes, but as he did his gaze caught attention of something else, something more pressing over Yerim’s shoulder.
A group of boys, boys Mark knew to be part of the crowd he should stay away from- the kind of boys who would probably annoy Mark if it wasn’t for his status as the mayor’s son, and the kind of boys who would probably whistle at Yerim in the hallways if Mark wasn’t always at her side. There they were in their full glory, following around a single boy who was easily taller than all of them but wore a yellow wristband that made him so small. They were marching behind him with eyes that reeked of malicious intent and Mark knew that the minute they followed the boy out of school grounds they were free of the act they had to put up as good students. Mark knew.
“You okay?” Yerim waved a hand in front of his eyes to break his stare. “Is it really that hard to think of someone?”
“Yerim, they’re following him,” Mark uttered, gesturing for her to turn around. She did, her eyes cluttered with confusion. But as she focused her gaze to where Mark had pointed her eyes became settled, sparked with an almost frustration.
“They’re so low,” she muttered with distaste lingering on her tongue. “Why can’t they leave the poor boy alone, he’s got it bad already.”
“They’re going to do something, just look at them,” Mark agonized over whether he should do something. His gut told him to go and stop them but what could he do? Tell them to go away?
“Dude, if you just step in before him they won’t touch him. You do know your power, right?” Yerim reminded him, poking at his ribcage. “I’ll go with you if you’re too scared.”
“No, it’s fine,” Mark denied her offer, giving her a look of trust. He knew she would, but like she said he did have power. They wouldn’t dare touch him with the wrath of the entire city’s government behind him. So that’s all he had to do- stand in front of the boy, maybe make it seem like they’re friends anyways.
But then again, they probably wouldn’t believe that the son of the city’s mayor was friends with an Imperfect.
-------
Shit!
Donghyuck was screaming in his head. He was an idiot. He was the stupidest person alive. He should of waited- his adrenaline had taken hold of him and if he had been in his right mind he probably wouldn’t of ran that soon. Now, now it was all going to shit.
“I said stop!” the officer behind him yelled furiously, mere meters behind Donghyuck. If he lost any speed he was dead meat and both of them knew it.
So he persisted- through wet streets full of puddles undisturbed until he splashed through them, unbothered by the fact that his boots were now sopping wet. It didn’t matter. He had a dry pair at home he could use. If he got home.
The officer was tireless, too. Donghyuck started to question if they gave their officers some sort of steroid in the city because he never seemed to waver in his gaits, even when Donghyuck found himself getting dangerously close to tiring.
It was almost hopeless. He couldn’t just run straight to the irregularity in the fence- he had to shake off the officer before that or else he would lead everyone else to danger. However, he didn’t know if he held enough stamina left to be able to lose the officer and get back to the irregularity, because with every passing step he brought himself further and further away, deeper and deeper into the city. He wasn’t even sure if he was in the same district anymore.
After what seemed like hours he began to gain on the officer as he pushed himself harder, the thought of just getting home acting as his motivation. The screams of the man were becoming further, even if it wasn’t by much. It was something. It was a glimmer of hope. It was-
Donghyuck was too focused on what was behind to notice what was in front of him. He only noticed Renjun’s voice calling his name once it was too late to stop himself, bringing a full-on collision with the other boy as he had stepped out of an alleyway. It knocked all his breath out of him and sent him sprawling to the ground, his back hitting it first in a shallow puddle and his eyes suddenly staring at the sky instead of his escape route.
He couldn’t breathe. He had been running so fast, he couldn’t breathe for what seemed like minutes, desperately gasping for air to return to him as he lay on the ground in shock.
But as he was finally able to function again, it was already too late.
He heard Renjun’s screams as clear as day, and when he lifted his head slightly to look in front of him he saw his friend struggling against the officer who was easily twice his size, trying to twist himself out of his grip in futile attempts of escape. And Donghyuck wanted nothing more but to get up and help, but his dazed body could only move so quickly.
As Donghyuck was able to roll over to his side, attempting to prop himself up on his elbow, the officer already had Renjun pinned to the ground, his identifier device in his right hand as his left grabbed Renjun’s hair, steadying his head so that the identifier could read the chip behind his ear that every person alive had.
And then the identifier glowed red onto the officer’s face in the deep night, and Donghyuck could hear him mutter “I thought so” to himself with a sort of wicked pride to his voice. And then he brought out his fist and made sure that Renjun wouldn’t move while he made his way to Donghyuck. And Donghyuck knew- he knew that the office didn’t have to do that to him, there were other ways to keep Renjun from running, but he chose to because his glow was neither green nor yellow but red, a connotation that brought fear to everyone living in the sleeping city even if they didn’t know why.
As the officer approached Donghyuck could feel himself shaking as his body didn’t respond the way he wanted it to, the way he needed it to. All he felt was the wave of fear crashing upon him. The only thing he could do was weakly kick at the man as he came within his range. But he knew he couldn’t stop him, not in this state at least. He was only delaying the inevitable. He almost didn’t resist the man as he grabbed him off the ground, except that he attempted to push him around a bit just to prove he wasn’t surrendering to him. The officer checked him, the identifier now glowing yellow back at him as he put it away for a final time.
By the time the officer had dragged him around enough to stand, reinforcements had already arrived- two other officers who seemed to be under the other’s control, as they immediately went to Renjun as soon as the other beckoned them to.
And Donghyuck watched, his eyes full of guilt and regret, as they practically peeled the boy off the ground, not even bothering to put him in handcuffs yet because he could barely stand. It was all his fault. It was his fault because if he had even had the common sense to look where he was going he could of seen Renjun in time, he could of just grabbed him by the arm instead and they could of ran together to the fence, get back home and laughed about it around a fire. But now Donghyuck didn’t want to think of what happened next. As he was put in the back of the officer’s car, a barely conscious Renjun leaning against his shoulder and shivering because of the cold rain, he didn’t want to think of what came next.
“Yes, we caught two of them,” he heard the officer say outside his door. “I think there was another, but if there was they’re probably long gone by now.” He paused, the booming voice on the other end sending chills down Donghyuck’s spine, making him reach for Renjun’s hand to assure himself he wasn’t alone. “One Unperfect and one Imperfect. So I guess you were right in assuming they were from outside the city.”
Suddenly the door was slammed shut and all Donghyuck could hear now was the patter of the rain against the glass window. He heaved in a deep sigh, his breath uneven as he let it out. He closed his eyes, deciding to focus his mind on Renjun’s steady breathing than the panic raging inside his head.
And that was it.
That was how everything went wrong.
-------
“You’re really lucky, aren’t you?”
Mark could hear the snickers of the boys as he and Yerim got closer and closer to them- they had stopped their target within an alleyway right outside the school, and thankfully the two had managed to follow them unheeded. Yerim’s hand was placed on his shoulder, not lifted ever since they left school grounds. She refused to leave Mark alone- even though he had denied her offer of assistance she was stubborn enough to tag along anyways.
“Your parents must really be crazy enough to keep you, huh?” one of them taunted. “Who in the right mind would actually keep an Imperfect son?”
“Either that or they’re too full of pity for people like you,” another added on. “It’s sad, really.”
“Mark, when are you going to go?” Yerim abruptly whispered into his ear, almost making him jump. He turned his attention away from them for a moment to face her, curling his lips in as he thought.
“You- you have to stay here, first,” he finally uttered back after he had sorted everything out in his head, placing his hands on her shoulders.
“I’ll stay here,” Yerim muttered in response, squinting her eyes at Mark questionably. “You really going to be alright by yourself?”
“I’ll be fine,” Mark assured her. He then rose from his place next to Yerim, letting go of a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. He knew he wasn’t the best at acting. He knew that was one of his faults- but suddenly there he was.
“Yo, what’s going on here?” Mark worked his hardest to project his voice as he walked up to the scene, the boys turning around with looks of annoyance starting to rise. Mark tried to ignore them, instead centering his attention on the boy they had cornered against a wall. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you, you were supposed to meet me at the gates so we could go study.”
Mark could tell he just sent the boy into a mind of confusion, but he prayed that he would catch along at some point or another. His heart was in his throat then as he directed his focus on the rest of them, their looks of doubt all too obvious.
“You know him?” one of them challenged him, taking a step towards him.
“Of course,” Mark made up as he went. “We’re- we’re study partners.”
“Well what’s his name then, huh?” the boy laughed. “Last time I recalled you two weren’t in the same class.”
Mark opened his mouth to respond, but he knew he couldn’t. He found the boy’s eyes and tried, he tried to recall if he knew, but the truth was they weren’t in the same class and Mark had almost never interacted with him until now.
That was when he felt himself start to panic, because it had already been a few seconds and soon they would know he was bluffing. How stupid, he really hadn’t thought it through enough to know-
“Wong Yukhei?”
Mark turned around to see Yerim walking up to him in the most casual way possible, resting her elbow on his shoulder and giving the boys in front of her an almost pitiful look. “He forgot to mention that I’m a part of this study group too, didn’t he? Gosh, I’m always at the back of his mind, aren’t I? I saw him running off from the gates and I thought he was blowing me off, you know?”
Mark watched her in awe as she kept talking to them as if she had known them for years, just making simple conversation like it was the easiest thing in the world. And then he looked up to see Yukhei, still behind the boys, almost smiling too.
“But anyways,” Yerim said in a louder tone, catching Mark’s attention again. “We have to get home by a certain time or else his father’s gonna come looking for him. You all know who he is, right? I don’t think he’s going to be happy if he sees you guys holding us all up. We’re studying to get into some very prestigious universities here.”
Once she was done talking everyone was utterly quiet, no one really knowing exactly what to do. That is, until Mark felt Yerim jab him in his foot with her shoe, and he knew then he had to say something.
“If you don’t mind, we’ll be leaving,” Mark stuttered out, motioning for Yukhei to follow him. “Come on, we have studying to do.”
Yukhei nodded at him and took a step forward to follow the two, however as he did one of the boys stretched out his hand to shove him back, making both Mark and Yerim jump at its abruptness.
“Hey, I’m serious. We need to go, can you just let us leave?” Mark chimed, grabbing Yerim’s hand tightly. “I don’t want any trouble.”
“We don’t either,” the boy in front said to him, practically spitting in his face. “You and your girlfriend can study without him, right? What does an Imperfect got to study for?”
Mark could feel the tension rising, and he knew he had to do something, whatever it was it had to be fast. He glanced at Yerim, her eyes as confused and anxious as his, and she gave him the look of do something right now or so help me that Mark had seriously hoped he didn’t have to receive.
And with that, suddenly he found himself walking forward, leaving Yerim behind and putting blind trust in his status that the boys wouldn’t touch him. He kept his eyes down and he could hear his pulse in his ears, however it worked. They only brushed his shoulders, and soon Mark found himself right in front of Yukhei.
“Let’s go,” Mark tried to hide the shakiness of his voice as he stretched his hand out. He could see the hesitation in Yukhei’s eyes but he tried with all his might to project calmness and assurance through his own. It must of worked, because Yukhei eventually took his hand and leaned off of the wall, giving Mark a slight nod only he could notice.
With that Mark turned around to venture his way back, only to be stopped again by the barricade the boys had formed around them. Mark sighed to himself, tapping his free hand against his pants anxiously. When would they learn to let it go?
“Where do you think you’re going?” the boy was practically breathing down his neck, his voice almost taunting him to take another step forward.
“I’m-”
Mark didn’t have time to speak, because suddenly a familiar silver car pulled up on the curb, its tinted window in no delay making its way down to reveal a familiar face to every single one of them.
“Mark!” his father yelled at him, waving his hand for him to make his way to him.
Mark looked back at the boy in his face, giving him the most stern look he could as he pushed him out of the way, dragging Yukhei behind with a firm grip. As he approached Yerim he saw her waving her phone, giving him a knowing smirk as he mouthed a thank you to her. He then grabbed her hand with his free one, not daring to look back at the boys in fear of provoking them. He just wanted out, and his anxious steps carried the three of them out of the alleyway and into his father’s car quicker than his own thoughts.
“Who’s this?” his father interrogated him as Mark pulled the door closed behind the three of them. His father signaled the driver to go, and Mark let out a huge sigh as he felt the car lurch forward, quickly ushering them away from any dangers.
“He’s a friend. We’re-” Mark stopped to look back at Yukhei, watching as the boy took everything in himself as well, but also noticing how he was cleverly hiding his yellow wristband behind Yerim’s back. “We’re study partners.”
“Well,” his father quickly dismissed it. “I have great news.”
“Oh?” Mark entertained him, even though he could care less about whatever news his father had now concocted. All he could keep thinking about was how close that boy’s face was to his and how in over his head he was. If Yerim hadn’t called-
“I have your project finalized,” his father halted his thoughts. Mark saw Yerim’s head tilt up towards Mark, her eyes squinted in question.
“You do?” Mark said uneasily, suddenly feeling awkward while his father openly conversed with him in front of Yerim and Yukhei. It wasn’t like he was embarrassed by him, per se- more like his father was always more of the mayor whenever he was around anyone else besides Mark, and whenever he acted like his father rather than the mayor around everyone it always felt awkward.
And of course, he still hadn’t spoken a word to Yukhei yet, and there he was sitting in the back of the mayor’s car.
“Yes, of course,” his father stated matter-of-factly, as he pulled out a few papers from the dashboard and handed them to Mark.
They were police papers, official papers, of a boy, seemingly around his age, with a pretty angry looking mug shot. Mark flipped through the papers, becoming more and more confused as to why they were in his hands when discussing his final project.
“What are these…?” Mark trailed off, raising his head to meet his father’s gaze.
“You are going to help this rouge Imperfect establish citizenship,” his father declared, his face beaming as if it was the best thing he had ever presented to anybody. “That will be your final project!”
Mark stared at him, his mouth agape, unsure if he even heard his father properly. He then pinned his eyes down at the papers again, back on the boy’s face, then back to Yerim, who mouthed an I don’t know to him while her face was hidden by the seat in front of her. Finally, Mark focused back on his father, still caught in the whirlwind of confusion his mind currently was.
“You’ll meet him in a few days after he's fully processed,” his father told him. “I already discussed this with your counselors at school, they agree it’s a wonderful project for universities to see.” He paused, glancing back at Yerim and Yukhei. “We can discuss this further when we arrive home.”
Mark fell back in his seat, at a loss for words. Help this guy? A criminal? All for simply his final project?
How could anything more today go any wrong?